May 17, 2011

Reproductive Health Becomes Viral

As the debate on the Reproductive Health (RH) heats up, leading investigative online magazine Newsbreak and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF) partners to provide in-depth analysis of the issue and encourage involvement in the discussions through social media.

Newsbreak now has a section on RH that contains crucial elements of the debate on the bill. The legislative and political processes involved as well as analysis and perspective on the issue will be published. Social media feedback will be featured, and a “tweetcon” will be organized.

The RH Bill or Bill No. 4244 (the proposed Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2011) is set to be debated by Congress. The Philippines, which is a predominantly Catholic country, is following how the discussion unfolds. The bill has sparked intense disagreements between the Catholic Church and the government as President Benigno Aquino has expressed support for the bill. The Church maintains that legalizing contraception is equivalent to promoting abortion. For this, the Chief Executive was threatened with excommunication by the Church. Bishops and priests have also encouraged their followers to disobey laws including evading taxes.

“We are discussing the RH Bill not only because it’s controversial, but because it touches on the lives of every Filipino. We want to offer the public a thorough understanding of the issue, which hopefully could lead to making the right choice,” said FNF Country Director Jules Maaten.