tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47582156300515538302024-02-20T13:02:43.945+08:00Diocese of San Pablo Family and Life CommissionOfficial site of the Family and Life Commission of the Catholic Church of the Diocese of San Pablo, San Pablo City, PhilippinesSan Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-60701218765192564902010-05-08T10:47:00.003+08:002010-05-08T10:51:23.935+08:00Pro Life Advocates Candidates<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgA-GteUekUxRJcjYR37U-RTczVIn4c49e3c9A3u3bbTZ_lmwUX4PXoXKRzj9dw83naV4kMWVLqyAmd735wm8_QwltubYqCo_dtzgwsNndi6ImdU-tYIJfKrQ7bXJYRg3wGsDWPad9irj/s1600/NEWS+AD+-+NATIONAL.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 220px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgA-GteUekUxRJcjYR37U-RTczVIn4c49e3c9A3u3bbTZ_lmwUX4PXoXKRzj9dw83naV4kMWVLqyAmd735wm8_QwltubYqCo_dtzgwsNndi6ImdU-tYIJfKrQ7bXJYRg3wGsDWPad9irj/s320/NEWS+AD+-+NATIONAL.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468726320146714610" /></a><br /><hr><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" width="25" height="25"></a><a href="http://pondongpinoy.blogspot.com"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" lowsrc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" width="25" height="25"></a><a href="http://sanpablomedia.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" width="25" height="25"></a>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-51543407099664274522010-03-28T20:17:00.002+08:002010-03-28T20:23:45.500+08:00A Catechism on Family and Life for the 2010 ElectionsCatholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines</st1:place></st1:country-region><o:p></o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant: small-caps;">Episcopal Commission on Family and Life<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant: small-caps;">December 27, 2009 – Feast of the Holy Family<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant: small-caps;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant: small-caps;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant: small-caps;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="ListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why is a Catechism for the 2010 Elections necessary?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">We are going to face <b style="">serious challenges in the 2010 Elections that are not only political but</b> <b style="">also clearly and profoundly moral</b>. We are a nation that values family and life and yet for years our elected leaders have been attempting to make laws that pose a grave threat to these values. So once again we find the opportune occasion for the Church to exercise its teaching authority to guide us in carrying out their political responsibilities in a faithful citizenship.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">The family has always been among the Church’s urgent concerns because it is both the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Domestic</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Church</st1:placetype></st1:place> and the Basic Unit of Society. <b style="">A strong family is the only assurance to having a strong society.<o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the 2004 and 2007 elections, the CBCP encouraged the faithful to exercise their Christian responsibility to be involved in politics in the conscientious selection of candidates, among others. We have consistently spoken out in defense of life and family. We do so again at this historic juncture in our national life.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">As Catholic voters, we understand that to protect our society from the invasion of anti-life and anti-family values, <b style="">we</b> <b style="">have to form our conscience well. This will enable us to use the power of our vote to demand accountability and coherence from our candidates. We would like to ensure that we have a democracy that is firmly founded on a consistent moral framework that will strengthen the foundation of our society and protect its weakest and most vulnerable members</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">This Catechism is written primarily for the Family and Life Ministries of the different dioceses in the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Philippines</st1:place></st1:country-region>, which fall under the care of this Episcopal Commission. This is also intended as a reference for all families. The aim of this Catechism is to help Catholics form their consciences in accordance with God’s truth with regards <span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;">to family, life and </span>responsible parenthood. It will help to make their faith operative when it comes to living their life in the Church and in society.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The intention is not to tell Catholics for whom or against whom to vote.<b style=""> </b>The responsibility to make political choices rests with each individual in light of a properly formed conscience, and that participation goes well beyond casting a vote in a particular election.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">This Catechism cannot be read with a casuistic mentality, of one searching for a fine line dividing mortal sin from venial sin. Rather, it should be read from a magnanimous perspective of one who strives to ask how to best serve the Filipino, the Filipino family and the country.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant: small-caps;"><span style="">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Will this Catechism on family and life concerns not violate the separation of Church and State?<span style="font-variant: small-caps;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">The separation of Church and State prohibits the State from interfering in Church matters, and prohibits the State from having a State religion. It does not imply a division between belief and public actions, between moral principles and political choices. <b style="">In fact, the freedom of religion upheld by our Constitution protects the right of believers and religious groups to practice their faith and act on their values in public life.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Church has the duty to teach Catholics about the importance of taking their Faith with them in all their endeavors, including voting. Catholics must live their faith in order to integrate God into their lives. <b style="">For faith to be genuine, it must be evident not only in Church activities, but in all aspects of life, at work, at home, and in politics as well.</b> The Constitution guarantees the right of each citizen to exercise his or her religion. Catholics who bring their moral convictions into public life do not threaten democracy or pluralism but rather enrich the nation and its political life.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Every Catholic is both a faithful of the Church and a citizen of our beloved <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Philippines</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <b style="">The exercise of this faithful citizenship means that when they go to the polls to vote they should not leave God outside.</b> They should take with them, among others:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">A renewed understanding of how God views life: “God created male and female, in the divine image He created them” and “found them to be very good.” (Gen 1:27. 31).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">A remembrance that God created marriage and “that is why man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife and the two of them become one body” (Gen 2:24). It is not a lifestyle choice that the law can remake into something that God never intended it to be.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Knowledge of what their beliefs as Catholics are and vote with a well-formed conscience.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shouldn’t the Church be limited to the spiritual and religious realms alone?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">The obligation to participate in shaping the moral character of our society is a basic part of the mission which the Church received from Jesus Christ, who offers a vision of life revealed to us in Sacred Scripture and Tradition. The Second Vatican Council teaches that Christ, the Word made flesh, in showing us the Father’s love, also shows us what it truly means to be human (<i style="">Gaudium et Spes </i>22). <b style="">Christ’s love for us allows us to see our human dignity in full clarity and compels us to love our neighbors as he has loved us.</b> Christ, the Teacher, shows us what is true and good, that is, what is in accord with our human nature as free, intelligent beings created in God’s image and likeness and endowed by the Creator with dignity and rights.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">We Catholics share the same respect for the dignity of every person in common with many non-Catholics who accept these truths which are self-evident through the gift of reason. But undeniably what our Catholic faith teaches about the dignity of the human person and the sacredness of human life helps us to see more clearly these same truths because these are at the very core of the Catholic moral and social teaching. <b style="">Because we are people of both faith and reason, it is appropriate and necessary for us to bring this essential truth about human life and dignity to the public square.</b> Church authorities exercise their teaching function also by reminding Catholic civil leaders of their moral obligations, especially in matters related to family and life.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="">4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">How do we Catholics enrich the democratic process this way?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our manner of active involvement in the democratic process means that we will use the power of the vote, as citizens of the Republic, to elect political leaders who will uphold and promote the dignity of human life and the sanctity of family and marriage. <b style="">Through our active participation in the democratic process, including voting, we contribute to ensuring that our democracy firmly underpins moral and ethical values and standards. In the absence of ethical values and standards democracy will become the totalitarian rule of the rich and the powerful who can trample on the rights of the weak and vulnerable, such as the unborn babies, mothers, the elderly and the poor families.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style=""> </span>A law-making process that is based simply on the will of the majority and not on ethical principles can easily lead to unjust laws because the will of the majority can be manipulated by powerful interest groups, leaving the weak and vulnerable unprotected.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="BookTitle1" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="">5.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">On family and life issues, including reproductive health, some Catholics justify their support for positions that are clearly against Church teachings by saying that they “simply follow their conscience.” Should we not follow our conscience?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains to us that “moral <b style="">conscience, present in the heart of the person, is a judgment of reason which at the appropriate moment enjoins him to do good and to avoid evil…</b> When attentive to moral conscience, the prudent person can hear the voice of God who speaks to him or her” (no. 372). Conscience is thus not the same as one’s opinions or feelings.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">One must always follow one’s conscience. <b style="">But one also has the obligation to form one’s conscience, because of the possibility of having an erroneous conscience.</b> “One must therefore work to correct the errors of moral conscience” (no. 376).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="">6.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">As Catholics, how do we correctly form our conscience?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">The same Compendium of the Catechism tells us that “<b style="">an upright and true moral conscience is formed by education and by assimilating the Word of God and the teaching of the Church. It is supported by the gifts of the Holy Spirit and helped by the advice of wise people. Prayer and an examination of conscience can also greatly assist one’s moral formation</b>” (no. 374).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Church’s teaching authority, also known as the “Magisterium,” endowed by Christ Himself, assists us Catholics in understanding God’s will in specific issues. <b style="">The Church, as our Mother and Teacher, takes into account what is happening in society and the data offered by the sciences and other fields of knowledge and offers us clear guidelines on certain specific questions.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thus, for example, we should not think that “abortion is wrong because the Church says so,” but rather, “abortion is wrong because it kills a human being who is one of us, and the Church reminds us of its wrongness.”</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Indeed, whether the Church says so or not, abortion is always a most violent, unjust and inhumane act committed against the most harmless, defenseless, and weakest member of our society –the baby– and committed by those who have the greatest duty to care for, love and defend him or her most –the mother, father, doctors and other health care professionals.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Similarly, the intrauterine device (IUD) is not wrong because the Church says so. Rather it is wrong in itself <b style="">whether the Church says so or not, because the IUD can kill a 5-day old baby by preventing him or her from implanting in the mother’s womb</b>. In fact, <b style="">it is medical literature and <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">not</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Church</st1:placetype></st1:place> dogma that describes the IUD’s modes of action</b>, and it is from these sources that the Church bases her defense of the 5-day old baby. We were once like this 5-day old human being, and he or she, if not killed, would grow to become like us.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Through prayerful reflection of the Word of God and a careful study of Church teachings on family and life (as in other matters), we strive to live out our faith in the world. <b style="">A well-formed conscience is always formed according to the official teachings of the Church, which Christ Himself instituted to guide us.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="">7.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">What does the Church teach regarding “responsible parenthood”?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">The profound link between the conjugal union and the gift of life gives married couples a vocation to give life, as long as they can responsibly care for the children they beget. Hence, <b style="">responsible parenthood calls for an understanding of the reproductive processes of the spouses’ bodies, including the woman’s fertility cycle</b>. And as with any other passion (anger, fear, love for food, desire for more, etc.), <b style="">the sexual drive should be placed under the control of the intellect and the will, through the exercise of virtues, rendering the sexual faculties truly and exclusively expressive of conjugal love and the self-giving of persons</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Responsible parenthood further involves the decision either (1) <b style="">to generously raise a numerous family if the couple is capable of doing so</b>, or (2) <b style="">if there are serious reasons (health, economic, social, psychological, etc.), not to have another child for the time being or indefinitely</b> ( <i style="">Humanae Vitae</i> 10).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style=""> </span>Thus, <b style="">responsible parenthood has nothing to do with encouraging individuals to use contraceptives as what reproductive health programs do.</b> The sexual union is appropriate only within the context of marital love, which must always be faithful, permanent, and exclusive between one man and one woman that is open to the gift of new life.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Responsible parenthood also has nothing to do with encouraging or coercing couples whether directly or indirectly to have only one or two children. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is not a population control program. Neither the government nor the Church may tell couples how many children to have, for the decision to have either a small or a large family rests on the couple themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="">8.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">What is the difference between procreation and reproduction?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style=""> </span>Reproduction is the process by which living things replicate, to assure the continuity of their species. It is necessary for the species, but not for the individual. <b style="">Reproduction, as in the case of plants and animals, does not require any bond between persons. </b>On the other hand, <b style="">procreation is the proper term for human generation as it refers to a loving act between spouses </b>which prepares for a possible creation by God of a new person. Procreation points to a collaboration of parents with God as the ultimate source of this new life. None of these characteristics of human procreation may be found in plant and animal reproduction.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style=""> </span>The conjugal act is like a language with two meanings: the unitive and the procreative. <b style="">Through their union in the conjugal act, a man and a woman give themselves totally to each other in and through their bodies.</b> They are telling each other: “I give myself totally to you, and I love and accept you totally; we are one flesh.” That is the unitive meaning.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Furthermore, the structures and functions of the male and female reproductive systems are such that <b style="">when a sexual act is performed, there is a possibility of new life to be formed</b>. This gives a procreative meaning to the sexual union. Thus, to accept each other totally includes saying, “since I love and accept you totally as you are, including your bodily functions, I also totally accept the possibility of our love bearing fruit, the gift of a new child.” Thus, the unitive and the procreative meanings of the sexual act cannot be separated from each other.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style=""> </span>Textbooks consistently using the term “reproduction” instead of “procreation,” even if intended for Catholic schools, should be thoroughly checked for the contraceptive mentality. They may confuse the students on the Church’s clear teaching on family and life. Presenting the views of dissenting theologians as being on equal authority with Church documents would bring about such confusion.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 22.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="">9.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why is contraception morally wrong?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style=""> </span><b style="">Contraception is any action taken before, during or after the conjugal act which is aimed at impeding the process or the possible fruit of conception.</b> In contraception, it is like the spouses telling each other, “I love you as long as we do not give birth.” In short, contraception makes the conjugal act a lie. It expresses not a total love, but rather a merely conditional or partial love. <b style="">Contraception separates the unitive and procreative aspects of the conjugal act.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style=""> </span>Since many contraceptives have also been shown by medical science to have various ill effects, their use could signify further contradictions and lies. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">It endangers then the physical well-being of the wife as well as the spiritual health of the marriage.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="">10.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why are natural methods of birth control not contraception?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style=""> </span><b style="">The natural methods simply enable the wife to ascertain when she is fertile and when she is infertile. It is scientific information placed at the service of either a procreative decision or a non-procreative decision by the spouses.</b> In this case couples do not do anything to prevent the normal consequences of the marital act from taking place. Rather, they make use of the wife’s God-given cycle in their decision whether to have another child or not for the time being.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="">11.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">What is reproductive health?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style=""> </span>The UN defines reproductive health as the state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its functions and processes. It states that people have the right to a “satisfying and safe sex life.” The conjugal union is natural and proper in marriage, but in contrast, reproductive health disposes all people, including children and adolescents, to the sexual act and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to reproduce, provided that these are not against the law. (UN Cairo Conference, Program of Action).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Following this definition, if having a satisfying sex life results in an unwanted pregnancy, the mental anguish this causes will negatively affect the person’s mental and social well-being unless one has access to contraception and abortion. This is the convoluted reasoning behind UN agencies’ insistence that <b style="">reproductive health necessarily presupposes access to contraception and abortion</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Furthermore, the <b style="">Reproductive Health bill (House Bill 5043), which carries the same definition of reproductive health, will penalize with one to six months imprisonment, and/or 10-50 thousand pesos fine, parents who for example prevent their grade school and high school children from using contraceptives, or from having satisfying and safe sex. </b>This item, along with the fact that certain contraceptives actually cause the abortion of 5-day old babies, is often ignored in supposedly unbiased and scientific surveys on the acceptability of the Reproductive Health bill.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">All these are in the name of reproductive health and rights. What about the rights of parents? And the rights of the unborn?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="">12.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">What are some experiences in other countries in relation to reproductive health and related to family and life issues?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Family and Life workers and families in the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Philippines</st1:place></st1:country-region>, to whom this Catechism is primarily directed, could <b style="">easily and clearly see the probable goals of reproductive health and rights advocates in the country, by looking at what is happening abroad</b>. In some countries, school clinics are required to inform parents if their child has been treated for a minor scratch; on the other hand, the same school clinics are PROHIBITED from informing parents if their child seeks treatment for abdominal pains caused by a recent abortion. In other places, children are required to obtain parental consent for a tattoo, but not for an abortion.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">A high-ranking official of a foreign country massively funding reproductive health services in the Philippines categorically stated last April that, “We happen to think that family planning is an important part of women’s health, and <b style="">reproductive health includes access to abortion</b>.” A local columnist wrote in November 2008 that “In Mexico City… <b style="">the long struggle for reproductive health and rights culminated in the recent passage of a law lifting all restrictions on abortion</b>.” Many countries all over the world and the United Nations agencies work for <b style="">reproductive health and rights until they have fully facilitated access to abortion</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Underlying this concept of reproductive or sexual health and rights is a view that radically separates sexuality, procreation and the complementariness between men and women.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> It is a view that identifies pleasure as the ultimate goal of sexuality and reduces procreation as a function of the health care systems. It also implies that men and women relate in temporary and modifiable unions that are a far cry from the beauty of conjugal love that is fully human, total, faithful, exclusive and open to life.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style=""> </span>Men and women are persons before all else, and for this reason sexual behavior cannot be used only for pleasure. Otherwise it would mean using a person simply as an object.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="">13.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">In defending family and life, do we Catholics not impose our beliefs on others and violate the principles of tolerance and dialogue?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style=""> </span>Many Protestants, believers of other religions, and even non-believers share our belief in the dignity and value of human life. <b style="">Tolerance means respect for the right of other persons to profess a different opinion and belief. However, tolerance cannot be understood as believing that other peoples’ points of view are equally good as one’s own, since this would blur the lines between good and evil and renounce the judgment of a sound and well-informed conscience.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">In fact, <b style="">publicly proclaiming one’s own beliefs is a service for dialogue, because through this way others can know exactly what and how one thinks</b>. One offers one’s thoughts for reflection to others while respecting their beliefs, but without assuming that all beliefs are equally valid.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Attempts to enact legislation promoting anti-family programs receive huge financial assistance and provide alluring incentives to persuade our politicians to commit themselves to their advocacy. Foreign-funded lobby groups have been operating for more than a decade to openly advocate for the enactment of population control laws, as well as abortion-friendly laws in pursuit of the UN Cairo Conference objective of universal abortion rights. <b style="">It makes one wonder why countries with below replacement fertility rates, desperate for babies and spending huge sums of money to encourage their own citizens to bear more children, contradict themselves by spending huge sums of money to suppress our population growth.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">All these are consistent with Henry Kissinger’s 1974 National Security Study Memorandum 200 entitled “Implications of Worldwide Population Growth for US Security and Overseas Interest” which identified the increase in world population as inimical to the interest of West. This document has been coming out in recent public debates on reproductive health policies, and is available on the internet. Do not reproductive health advocates bow down to their impositions? Is it not more correct to say that they are the ones imposing their policies on our country?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 22.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="">14.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Is it morally acceptable to vote for an anti-family candidate?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">With the foregoing considerations, it would not be morally permissible to vote for candidates who support anti-family policies, including reproductive health (in the particular understanding being presented in the recent debates, which includes, among others, promotion of abortifacients, penalties for parents who do not allow their adolescent children to engage in sexual acts, etc.), or any other moral evil such as abortion, divorce, assisted suicide and euthanasia. Otherwise one becomes an accomplice to the moral evil in question.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">The gravity of these questions allows for no political maneuvering. They strike at the heart of the human person and the family and are non-negotiable. Supporting them renders a candidate unacceptable regardless of his position on other matters.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The right to life is a paramount issue and hence cannot be placed on the same plane of discernment as the candidate’s positions on the environment, unemployment, health care, or others. This is because, as Pope John Paul II says, the right to life is “the first right, on which all the others are based, and which cannot be recuperated once it is lost.” It is also because the family is the basic unit of society. <b style="">A candidate lays down the ground for refusing solidarity with anyone if he refuses solidarity with the unborn in the first few days or months of life, or with the dying. Why should anyone vote for such a candidate?</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 22.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="">15.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">How should we Catholics engage questions related to family and life similar to the ones discussed in this Catechism?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Whenever we explain our desire to further strengthen the Filipino family, we should base our arguments primarily on legal, medical, economic, educational, psychological, sociological and other scientific data rather than on religious teachings alone. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">This translation of our faith into legitimate inputs to the policy making process helps our elected officials see more clearly the reasonableness of our advocacy.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">For example, <b style="">factual demographic data from the UN Population Division showing rapid ageing and collapse of the world population in 40 years, or the drop of Philippine fertility below replacement rate in 15 years, </b>are reasonable grounds to encourage elected officials to instead opt to file bills banning contraceptive attempts to bring fertility down. The fact that contraceptives are also abortifacient and cancerous reinforces this argument. This way elected officials will see that <b style="">those who promote family and life (including in their opposition to the Reproductive Health bill) are not only the Bishops, as the mass media frequently portray, but above all parents</b>, whether Catholics or not, who truly understand the issues, not only as taught by the Church, but as supported by data from the different fields of knowledge.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">We Catholics should always remember that we are not only members of God’s People, but of Philippine society as well. <b style="">Hence when it comes to voting in the 2010 Elections and even beyond, and holding dialogues with our political leaders, we should carry out our responsibilities and demand our rights as citizens. </b>When we speak with our Honorable Senators, Congressmen, Governors, Mayors and other officials, let us highlight our place of residence in provinces and barangays rather than our parishes, our membership in civic groups rather than Church organizations, and our occupation as office workers, businessmen, farmers, firsherfolk, bus or tricycle drivers, vendors, youth and women advocates, and others. Let us emphasize to them that we are their constituents –citizens, taxpayers and voters– who have put them into office, and demand that laws protecting the Filipino Family be firmly upheld.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 3in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">+ Archbishop Paciano B. Aniceto, DD<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 3in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Archbishop of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">San Fernando</st1:place></st1:city>, Pampanga <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 3in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">ECFL Chairman<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">APPENDIX<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Excerpts from CBCP documents related to the themes presented in this Catechism, highlighting the value of Family and Life, and the obligations of the faithful<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">in the exercise of political choices. Full texts may be downloaded from the CBCP website:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.cbcponline.net/documents/<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">===================================================<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span lang="EN-SG">WE MUST REJECT HOUSE BILL 4110<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span lang="EN-SG">(A Pastoral Statement of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Philippines</st1:place></st1:country-region>)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span lang="EN-SG">May 31, 2003</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG">But in truth the term “reproductive health care” as now used internationally, beginning with the United Nation’s <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Cairo</st1:place></st1:city> document, explicitly includes abortion - the most abominable crime.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG">“Reproductive health care” and “reproductive rights” also include other ambiguous ideas, such as a “satisfying and safe sex life.” In. the context of House Bill 4110, this would include a “constellation of methods, techniques, and services,” the “full range of supplies, facilities, and equipment” that would safeguard “reproductive health.” It is in this way that the bill unreservedly promotes the whole range of contraceptive devices that could be imagined. Unconscionably, House Bill 4110 would even make such devices available to adolescents, by virtue of “reproductive rights” for the sake of “reproductive health.”</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">===================================================<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span lang="EN-SG">PASTORAL STATEMENT ON THE COMING 2004 ELECTIONS</span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span lang="EN-SG">26 January 2004</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG">In our own dioceses, we shall encourage local groups and communities to participate critically in these discussions. In particular, we reiterate the call to the Catholic laity to exercise their Christian responsibility and noble calling to be involved in politics through education in social responsibility, non-partisan poll-watching, in the conscientious choices of candidates, etc</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">===================================================<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span lang="EN-SG">NATION-BUILDING THROUGH ELECTIONS<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span lang="EN-SG">(Pastoral Statement on Elections 2004)<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span lang="EN-SG">April 21, 2004</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG">At least three basic criteria are to be considered:</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG">First, is the candidate a person of <i>competence</i>, i.e. in terms of leadership experience, professional qualifications, and record of governance? Second, is the candidate a person of <i>conscience</i>, i.e. with personal integrity, transparency, accountability, and respect for human rights? And third, is the candidate a person of <i>commitment </i>to a vision and program of action on key issues such as family and life, environment, illegal drugs and gambling, justice, peace and order, poverty alleviation, education, etc.?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">===================================================<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b><i><span lang="EN-SG">“HOLD ON TO YOUR PRECIOUS GIFT”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span lang="EN-SG">A Pastoral Letter on Population Control Legislation and the “<i>Ligtas Buntis” Program</i><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="" lang="EN-SG">February 18, 2005<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG">Last February 15<sup>th</sup>, a committee in Congress approved a bill on population control, “reproductive health”, sexual rights for young people, and mandatory child sex education, among others. The measure imposes fine and imprisonment for parents, spouses, and health professionals who impede “sexual and reproductive rights.” It creates a program for fertility control by encouraging the limitation of family size to two children. It gives incentives to 2-child families. Women—married or single—will be taught “all methods and techniques to prevent pregnancy.” The sponsors have called the proposal “<i>responsible parenthood” </i>and “<i>population management.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG">During committee deliberations, the authors have also denied the beginning of human life at fertilization.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><i><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-SG">What is the underlying agenda?</span></b><span lang="EN-SG"> The central idea is to reduce our population purportedly to spur economic growth. This is also saying that in order to eliminate poverty, we must reduce our human resource.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-SG">The premises are all wrong.</span></b><span lang="EN-SG"> A long line of serious economists and demographers have long discredited the Malthusian myth that positive population growth stunts economic growth. Modern history has also demolished this myth.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG">Since a population control program was put in place in the country in the 1970s—with billions of public money spent every year to fund it--our population growth has been declining and continues to do so today, and yet, poverty has not been reduced. Official government data attest to this. If this population trend continues—and it will if we remain unmoved—the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Philippines</st1:place></st1:country-region>, much to its peril, will lose precious human capital.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span lang="EN-SG">THE CHURCH CANNOT REMAIN UNMOVED<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span lang="EN-SG">BY THESE ASSAULTS ON THE FAMILY</span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-SG">1. The legislative proposal to limit the size of the Filipino family in the guise of “reproductive rights” is unjust, arbitrary, and unreasonable legislation.</span></b><span lang="EN-SG"> It has no place in public governance.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-SG">2. <i>“Responsible Parenthood”</i></span></b><span lang="EN-SG"> goes beyond simply providing for a family’s material needs. While we must preach about providing bread, there is no substitute for first preaching about the higher truth about man.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG">For we know by our Faith what is <u>authentic</u> “responsible parenthood”:<i> It means respect for one’s generative functions. It calls upon married persons to use discernment and generosity in their decisions. It calls for due regard to physical, economic, psychological and social conditions in deciding “to raise a numerous family.” It includes the spouses’ decision “based on grave motives and <u>with due respect for the moral law</u>, to avoid for the time being or even for an indeterminate period, a new birth.”</i> Responsible parenthood makes parents “free and responsible collaborators of God the Creator.”(Humanae Vitae)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: windowtext;" lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-SG">To our leaders and lawmakers</span></b><span lang="EN-SG">: A well-formed Christian conscience does not permit you to write or support measures which contradict the basic rights of families and the fundamental imperatives of faith and morals.” (<i>“On the Participation of Catholics in Political Life”</i>, <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Vatican</st1:country-region></st1:place>, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.) Christian leaders have both a political and moral obligation<b> </b>to safeguard “the laws of nature and of nature’s God.” Failure in this duty is a betrayal of public trust and an open defiance of your Faith.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-SG">To all spouses:</span></b><span lang="EN-SG"> Build your family on the rock of Christian generosity and discernment. Your right to found a family is rooted on your Christian responsibility and freedom of religious belief, together with the right <i>to act according to that belief</i>. That freedom may not be breached.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-SG">To our Health Workers: You have the right to conscientious objection.</span></b><span lang="EN-SG"> It is both a civic right and a Christian duty to insist on it.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-SG">To all the faithful</span></b><span lang="EN-SG">—Defend truth. It gives light to our reason, and preserves us from error. Resist the enticements of false “freedoms” and counterfeit “rights.” Defend the privacy of family.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-SG">Take heart and stand firm. Be courageous in the Faith. Hold on to that precious gift—that “<i>pearl of great price.”</i> </span></b><span lang="EN-SG">It is the source of unfailing strength. It is your breastplate when you face the storms that besiege conscience.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">===================================================<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><strong><span lang="EN-SG">Liberating Our Country from “Unfreedoms”</span></strong></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span lang="EN-SG">June 12, 2006</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG">We recall what Pope Benedict XVI in <em>Deus Caritas Est wrote: “The formation of just structures is not directly the duty of the Church, but belongs to the world of politics, the sphere of the autonomous use of reason.”</em></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG">What is the duty of the Church? “The Church has an indirect duty (says Benedict XVI), in that she is called to contribute to the purification of reason and to the reawakening of the moral forces.” What is the duty of the civil society? “The direct duty to work for a just ordering of society, on the other hand, is proper to the lay faithful. As citizens of the State, the Pope says, “they are called to take part in the public life in a personal capacity in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas for the common good.”</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">===================================================<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><strong><span lang="EN-SG">Working and Praying for Honest, Orderly and Peaceful Elections</span></strong></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span lang="EN-SG">A Pastoral Exhortation</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><em><span style="font-style: normal;" lang="EN-SG">April 24, 2007<o:p></o:p></span></em></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><em><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></em></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><em><span lang="EN-SG">“The Church values the democratic system inasmuch as it ensures the participation of the citizens in making political choices, guarantees to the governed the possibility of both electing and holding accountable those who govern them…” (John Paul II, Centessimus Annus, #46).<o:p></o:p></span></em></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG">As we approach once again the critical moment of our national election on May 14, let us meet the new crossroads in our history with our best efforts to make it an <em><b>Honest, Orderly and Peaceful Election</b></em>. Being in a democracy, this is the <em><b>Covenant of HOPE</b></em> that we are all enjoined to give for our country’s future.</span></p> <h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">===================================================<o:p></o:p></span></p> <h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></h1> <h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-SG">STANDING UP FOR THE GOSPEL OF LIFE<o:p></o:p></span></h1> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><em><span lang="EN-SG">CBCP Pastoral Statement on Reproductive Health Bill</span></em></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><em><span lang="EN-SG">“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).</span></em></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: black;">November 14, 2008<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative power of God (CCC 2258). The Church carries out the mandate of the Lord to go and proclaim to all the nations the Gospel of Life. The protection and preservation of human life and the preservation of the integrity of the procreative act of parents are important elements of our mission from the Lord. It is our fidelity to the Gospel of Life and our pastoral charity for the poor that leads us your pastors to make this moral stand regarding Reproductive Health Bill 5043 that is the object of deliberation in Congress.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG">The Church has always concerned itself with the poor. It has innumerable institutions and programs meant to help the poor. Our objection to this Bill is precisely due to our concern that in the long run this Bill will not uplift the poor. “The increase or decrease of population growth does not by itself spell development or underdevelopment”. (CBCP Statement, July 10, 1990)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sacredness of Life from Conception. The current version of the Bill does not define clearly when the protection of life begins. Although it mentions that abortion is a crime it does not state explicitly that human life is to be protected upon conception as stated in the Constitution.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">The prevention of implantation of the fertilized ovum is abortion. We cannot prevent overt abortions by doing hidden abortions. It is a fallacy to think that abortions can be prevented by promoting contraception. Contraception is intrinsically evil (CCC 2370, <i style="">Humanae Vitae</i>, 14).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Freedom of Conscience. By mandating only one Reproductive Health Education Curriculum for public and private schools, the Bill could violate the consciences of educators who refuse to teach forms of family planning that violate their religious traditions. This provision also could violate the rights of parents to determine the education of their children if the proposed curriculum would contradict their religious beliefs.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Heroic Parenting. Family health goes beyond a demographic target because it is principally about health and human rights.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Since human resource is the principal asset of every country, effective family health care services must be given primacy to ensure the birth and care of healthy children and to promote responsible and heroic parenting.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">===================================================<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A CBCP Pastoral Statement on Lay Participation in Politics and Peace</span></strong><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Love and truth will meet; justice and peace will kiss” (Ps 85, 11)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span lang="EN-SG">July 12, 2009</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG">2. “Direct participation in the political order is the special responsibility of the laity in the Church…. it is their specific task to renew the temporal order according to Gospel principles and values” (CBCP, “Pastoral Exhortation on Philippine Politics,” 1997).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. Recently our beloved Pope Benedict XVI reminded the lay faithful of their “direct duty to work for a just ordering of society” and “to take part in public life in a personal capacity” (<i style="">Deus Caritas Est</i> 29).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">===================================================<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><strong><span lang="EN-SG">REITERATING CBCP POSITION ON FAMILY</span></strong></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span lang="EN-SG">Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span lang="EN-SG">September 16, 2009</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-SG">With the introduction of the Reproductive Health Bill 5043, <em>a.k.a.</em> Reproductive Health Bill, in Congress, truth and morality, the value and dignity of life, family and marriage are sadly made to depend on human laws. That is what is implied in the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill presently under discussion in Congress.</span></p> <hr /><br /><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" width="25" border="0" height="25" /></a><a href="http://pondongpinoy.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" lowsrc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" width="25" border="0" height="25" /></a><a href="http://sanpablomedia.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" width="25" border="0" height="25" /></a>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-2189602323730932532010-03-28T20:04:00.002+08:002010-03-28T20:11:18.198+08:00Population trends: lessons for RPBy Fr. Gregory D. Gaston, SThD<br />Philippine Daily Inquirer<br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">First Posted 19:47:00 01/02/2010</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">REMEMBER the population bomb? The new threat to the planet is not too many people but too few,” Michael Meyer reports on “Birth Dearth” (in Newsweek, Sept. 27, 2004). He continues: “The world’s population will continue to grow – from today’s 6.4 billion to around 9 billion in 2050. But after that, it will go sharply into decline. Indeed, a phenomenon that we’re destined to learn much more about – depopulation – has already begun in a number of countries.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">In general, a total fertility rate (TFR or children per woman) of 2.1 is necessary to replace a country’s population. The UN Population Division (UNPD) states, “The primary consequence of fertility decline, especially if combined with increases in life expectancy, is population ageing. It adds, “Globally, the number of persons aged 60 years or over is expected almost to triple” between 2005 and 2050.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Population controllers never highlight population ageing and decline. In countries where these phenomena happen today, a huge number of elderly have to be supported by proportionally fewer working people. The pension fund and the social security system are overburdened. The local labor force grow older and less efficient, hence they need immigrants.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Having fewer and older people means a smaller market, especially for certain sectors such as baby food, clothing, vaccines and certain other medicines, sports facilities, office equipment, education, etc. –products and services the elderly employ less. More countries will soon need more coffins than cradles.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Below replacement levels</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">A population with an above-replacement TFR (that is, with 2.1 or more children per woman) will have a pyramid-shaped “population pyramid.” In this scenario, the economically active persons support their children and a small group of elderly dependents.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">If a country’s TFR goes below replacement level, the wide bases of the pyramid are replaced by narrower bases each year, reflecting the fewer children born each year.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Continued below-replacement TFR will lead to a diamond-shaped figure.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">By this time the economically active persons will have to support a relatively few children and a rapidly increasing number of elderly.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">This condition contributes to the present economic boom of rich countries, since the workers will get to keep a big share of their earnings, instead of spending them for the needs of children and the elderly.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">This is the situation that population controllers want us to foresee: They explain that the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Philippines</st1:place></st1:country-region> will become well-off when it reaches this stage. But they never explain what will happen beyond this stage, which, to say the least, is a disaster.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">If the country’s TFR remains below replacement levels, the diamond-shaped population pyramid will become shaped like a toy top.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">If the trend continues, the country will end up having an inverted population pyramid, with an extremely aged and shrinking population.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Babies needed</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Because of an elderly and forthcoming collapsing population, Dr. Joseph Chamie, former UNPD director, said to the Population Association of America that governments were “adopting polices... to increase their child bearing,” including restricting or limiting contraception [and] abortion, match making, conducting public-relation campaigns for <a href="http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/talkofthetown/view/20100102-245180/Population-trends-lessons-for-RP" target="_top"><span style="text-decoration: none;">marriage</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;"> </span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); display: none;"><a href="http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/talkofthetown/view/20100102-245180/Population-trends-lessons-for-RP" target="_top"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" spt="75" preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:formulas> <v:path extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" connecttype="rect"> <o:lock ext="edit" aspectratio="t"> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="" style="'width:16.5pt;"><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/SHELDON/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msohtml1/03/clip_image001.gif" shapes="_x0000_i1025" width="22" border="0" height="22" /><!--[endif]--></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">, childbearing and parenthood, and giving out cash bonus for the birth of a child.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">They have not succeeded so far. But if ever they do succeed in increasing birthrates, their population “pyramid” will acquire the shape of an hourglass.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">In this scenario, their workers will have to care not only for their big population of elderly dependents, but also for the increasingly big batches of children they want to have, the young dependents.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">This will mean a double economic burden for them. Hence, these countries will soon be in a serious predicament: Continued economic woes and the nation’s extinction if they don’t produce more children and doubled economic woes if they do.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">They hope to return to the scenario they were in 50 years ago: To have many <a href="http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/talkofthetown/view/20100102-245180/Population-trends-lessons-for-RP" target="_top"><span style="text-decoration: none;">babies</span></a> who would eventually replace the work force, and in turn care for both the young and the elderly dependents. That is, they seek a normal population pyramid, shaped like a real pyramid, with a wide base and a narrow tip, and not like a diamond, a toy top, an inverted pyramid, or an hourglass.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">In short, they want to revert to the type of pyramid that the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Philippines</st1:place></st1:country-region> still has – a pyramid that it will soon lose, as its TFR continues to decline. Within two decades, our country will fall into the same trap where ageing countries find themselves in and want to escape from right now, a TFR below the 2.1 replacement level.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Lessons</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">The UNPD figures indicate that it is not an exaggeration to say that as early as now the Philippine TFR is already dangerously low.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Whereas in the early 1970s the average Filipina had six children, today she has around three, and in another 20 years, only two.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Shortly after 2020, the Philippine TFR will sink below its specific replacement level of around 2.29 (higher than the usual 2.1 because of higher infant mortality and other factors).</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">It will be too late and useless to wait for the TFR to go below replacement level and then try to raise it up again. The only solution would be to try to prevent its further decline today – an effort that will probably not succeed within a few decades, but will hopefully at least lessen the impact of an ageing population. If approved, the bills promoting population control will certainly plunge the Philippine TFR further down.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">The Philippine population pyramids of 2000, 2025 and 2050 (from the US Census Bureau website) reflect the TFR’s downward trend.<br /><br />We can no longer sit back, relax and think of “just crossing the bridge when we get there,” because we have already reached the bridge. At the rate its TFR is declining, the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Philippines</st1:place></st1:country-region> will, within 20 years, join the other countries that have fallen into the river. It will be a point of no return, or at least, of extremely difficult return. Why go there in the first place?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">It has to be stressed that the Philippine TFR will probably reach below replacement levels within two decades even without additional population control efforts.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Filipinos now marry later in life, marital unions have become less stable, emigration to urban centers makes rearing children more difficult, emigration to other countries is on the rise (physically subtracting members from the country, especially those of reproductive age, and reducing the number of children those left behind beget), decisions on how to spend money have left having more children out, and the mass media greatly influence spouses to have few children.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Population control</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Countries that were already rich 30 to 40 years ago when their TFRs started to decline and are now ageing encounter extreme difficulty in solving their economic problems.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Their efforts to encourage their citizens to produce more children have not yielded acceptable results after a decade. They depend on immigration to maintain their population growth.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">The <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Philippines</st1:place></st1:country-region> is not a rich country and may or may not be rich within 50 years. How will it support its aging population? Will it also invite workers from other countries to replace its dwindling workforce? Will it also pay mothers for each child born? Impossible.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Even if it becomes rich by then, it will have to face the same problems rich countries face now and will have to tell the people to raise more children.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Graphically speaking, we cannot afford to have in the future a population pyramid like the rich countries’ and then, like them, wish to regain the population pyramid we have now.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Population control has to be ruled out as a quick-fix solution to poverty. This in no way means telling the people to have as many children as they can, to uncontrollably “go forth and multiply” (as some erroneously claim the Church teaches).</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Rather, parents should be guided and supported to attain the number of children they can generously and responsibly raise and educate. For some spouses, this means having one child or two and for others, 5, 10, 12, or in some cases, 15 or even more. If they could really manage to properly care for them, why not?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Neither the government nor the Church may compel, instruct or encourage spouses to raise a specified number of children, as what population control programs definitely try to do. Rather, the government and the Church should form and guide the people to reflect on their actual circumstances and to freely, generously and responsibly decide whether or not to have another child for the time being or indefinitely.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Human capital</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Any economic, social or political policy proposed to solve poverty should take advantage of, rather than suppress, our abundant human resources. As Dr. Gary Becker, 1992 Nobel Prize winner in economic science, says, “human capital,” which refers to the skills, education, <a href="http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/talkofthetown/view/20100102-245180/Population-trends-lessons-for-RP" target="_top"><span style="text-decoration: none;">health</span></a> and training of individuals, comprises around 80 percent of the wealth of advanced countries and hence “can be neglected [only] at a country’s peril.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Any solution to poverty, furthermore, has to take into account, support and promote our closely knit family ties, the time and dedication parents give to their children, the care children and extended families give to the elderly whom we truly <a href="http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/talkofthetown/view/20100102-245180/Population-trends-lessons-for-RP" target="_top"><span style="text-decoration: none;">love</span></a>, the moral principles and holistic training children receive from their parents and all the other values that the Filipino family has until now maintained, in spite of the pressures exerted upon it by secularism.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">The contribution to the national economy of these services and values that find their dynamism within the family is impossible to calculate, but they provide a key – the most important one – to good governance in the public and private sectors, a condition sine qua non to attain stability in society, reach economic development and diminish poverty.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">(Gregory Gaston is a priest of the Archdiocese of Manila, professor and former dean of the Graduate School of Theology of San Carlos Seminary in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Makati</st1:place></st1:city>. He holds a doctorate in sacred theology. He presented this topic at the Society of Catholic Social Scientists’ annual meeting at the University of Mississippi School of Law on Oct. 31, 2009. This article is excerpted from “Familia et Vita” (2007), the Quarterly Review of the Pontifical Council for the Family [full text at www.safe.ph].)</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <br /><br /><hr /><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" width="25" border="0" height="25" /></a><a href="http://pondongpinoy.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" lowsrc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" width="25" border="0" height="25" /></a><a href="http://sanpablomedia.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" width="25" border="0" height="25" /></a>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-44393946782276489692010-03-28T19:35:00.001+08:002010-03-28T19:38:44.281+08:00Stem Cells - the Basics<div style="text-align: justify;">Explained by Senior Fellow at Culture of Life Foundation<br /><br />By E. Christian Brugger<br /><br />WASHINGTON, D.C., MARCH 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Given the new Presidential order allowing federal funds for research using human embryonic stem cells, it might be helpful for readers to become more familiar with the terminology used in any discussion of controversies surrounding embryonic stem cell research.<br /><br />What is a Stem Cell?<br /><br />A stem cell, whether of the adult or embryonic type, is an undifferentiated cell (i.e., a cell that has not yet specialized into a particular cell type, e.g., liver cell, pancreatic cell, or cardiac cell) with two unique capacities: the first, for rapid and prolonged self-multiplication into daughter cells identical with itself; and the second, for development and differentiation into specific types of cells such as liver and cardiac cells.<br /><br />What is a Stem Cell’s Potency?<br /><br />A stem cell’s “potency” refers to its capacity for differentiation, that is, for developing into particular kinds of human cells, e.g.. liver, kidney, blood, etc. Different types of stem cells have different scopes to their potency: e.g., totipotent, pluripotent, multipotent or unipotent. A totipotent cell is capable of differentiating into every tissue in the human body, including extra-embryonic support tissues necessary for human gestation (e.g., placenta, umbilical cord, amniotic sac); a single-celled embryo, also called a zygote, possesses the capacity of totipotency; also, the individual cells of an embryo’s body, called blastomeres, in the first few days of the embryo’s life are totipotent; if a blastomere splits off from the embryo’s body, it has the capacity for complete human development, which is how we get identical twins. A pluripotent cell is capable of differentiating into almost all the tissues of the human body, but not the extra-embryonic support tissues; embryonic stem cells are pluripotent. Stem cells can also be multipotent (capable of differentiating into the cells of a cell group type, e.g., blood cells) and unipotent (unable to differentiate into any other cell type than itself).<br /><br />What are the Differences between Embryonic and Adult Stem Cells?<br /><br />Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are undifferentiated, self-renewing, pluripotent cells. They are harvested from the bodies of embryos at approximately day five of human development. At day five the embryo’s body takes the shape of a hollow sphere (the embryo at this time is called a “blastocyst”). The blastocyst has an outer cell layer and an inner cell mass (picture a basketball with a small group of marbles clumped together on the inside). The cells of the inner cell mass will eventually differentiate into the varied tissues of the person’s body; and the outer cell layer will develop into the placenta and other support tissues. But it is important to understand that at this point, both the outer cell layer and inner cell mass constitute the embryo’s body. The inner cell mass can be understood to be the embryo’s internal organs. These cells are what we call embryonic stem cells and have the capacity of pluripotency; they are coveted by ESC researchers precisely because of their pluripotency. Just as harvesting all the internal organs of an adult would kill the adult, harvesting the stem cells of an embryo kills the embryo.<br /><br />Adult stem cells (ASCs) also have the capacities of self-proliferation and differentiation, but are not derived from the bodies of embryos. They are ‘adult’ not because they’re found only in adults, but because the tissue in which they’re found is differentiated tissue (as opposed to the undifferentiated tissue of an embryo’s body). Thus ASCs can be found in newborn tissue. In fact, some of the most clinically valuable ASCs are found in umbilical cord blood. Although some ASCs have been found with the capacity of pluripotency, most are only capable of differentiating into the tissue type or related group type of the tissue in which they’re found.<br /><br />Ethical controversy surrounding stem cell research<br /><br />Every reasonable person agrees that the clinical end being sought in stem cell research is praiseworthy -- namely, finding clinical solutions for remediating serious illnesses. Controversy surrounds the means by which that end is pursued. The familiar ethical question raised by ESC research is this: Is it justifiable to kill human embryos in order to explore potentially healing remedies for other persons? Those who judge human embryos to be human beings, albeit at an early stage of development, think it’s wrong. Those who believe embryos are “pre-human” entities, developmental precursors to whole human beings, think it sometimes can be justified.[1]<br /><br />ASC research avoids this ethical problem by avoiding research on embryos altogether. The ethical questions surrounding ASC research then are similar to those involved with all research on human subjects: Do the benefits promised by the research outweigh the burdens imposed by it for the human subjects of the research? Is fully informed consent being secured? Is truthfulness in reporting of data being maintained? Are unwarranted promises of benefit being eschewed? And so on. If the answer to these is yes, then one may proceed with confidence that the research is legitimate. In fact, the Vatican and the United States Conference of Catholic bishops have consistently supported research on stem cells that does not exploit or destroy human embryos[2]. This support is reaffirmed in the new Vatican document on bioethical questions, Dignitas Personae[3].<br /><br />Don’t current findings demonstrate that ESC research is clinically unnecessary?<br /><br />This is a very important question and should be asked often of scientists and public officials. Let me elaborate it: since ASCs have already proven remarkably effective in treating serious diseases, including formerly untreatable diseases[4], and since ESC research, despite billions of dollars spent, has produced nothing but failures on the clinical front, and even human tragedies[5] , and since the desire to develop clinically useful patient-specific pluripotent stem cells is being rapidly and efficiently fulfilled by the new and remarkable Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs)[6], why aren’t embryonic stem cells obsolete in the minds of scientists? Why does the scientific community insist on greater liberties for embryo-destructive experimentation when both moral reasoning and cutting edge science point in another direction? Why this lust for the embryo?[7]<br /><br />I don’t have a satisfactory answer to this. Some researchers obviously believe that embryonic stem cells, despite current evidence, promise benefits that ASCs and iPSCs do not. I’m also told that many of the best researchers are turning away from ESCs because of the mounting problems they pose, and turning towards research with iPSCs. If this is the case, then the questions posed above need to be put frankly to our politicians, because some still seem to think that the future of stem cell research lies with ESCs.<br /><br />In the shadow of President Obama’s executive order overturning the Bush stem cell policy, the House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) stated on the House floor that the U.S.. House will take up a bill in early April to overturn the 1996 Dickey-Wicker Amendment prohibiting federal funding from research involving the creation or destruction of human embryos [8]. With all we now know, why is Congress bent on spending taxpayer money for embryo destructive experimentation? Isn’t that scientifically retrogressive and economically wasteful, not to mention morally unjust to the embryos killed as a result of the decision and to taxpayers who object to public funds being used for such research when alternatives are available?<br /><br />Postscript:<br /><br />Some might be wondering what distinguishes the “Bush stem cell policy” (Aug. 2001) from the restrictions imposed by the Dickey-Wicker amendment (1996). Dickey-Wicker was passed before ESC research was launched in 1998 by the first successful isolation of ESCs by James A. Thomson’s lab at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. It simply restricted funding on research that created or destroyed human embryos. After 1998, pressure was exerted on the Clinton administration to free up funds for this new ‘promising’ type of research. But Dickey-Wicker stood in the way. Thus, to sidestep the restrictions Clinton, as he was leaving office (2000), approved federal guidelines permitting the NIH to fund research on stem cells derived from ‘spare’ embryos slated for destruction at fertility clinics. Do you see the slight of hand? By the time stem cells are derived, the killing is over. If private funds paid for the killing, then the federal government would fund the subsequent research. Clinton’s lawyers argued that his guidelines conformed to Dickey-Wicker, and legalistically construed, they did. At once, the NIH began accepting grant proposals from scientists bent on embryo destructive research. Aware of the loophole, newly elected President George W. Bush passed an executive order permitting federal funds for ESC research only on certain pre-approved stem cell lines created by that date. Since stem cells can self-proliferate indefinitely, these sixty lines, he thought, would provide subject matter for years of viable research. But under the new policy, funding would be prohibited from all stem cell lines derived after August 2001. NIH grant proposals thereafter were carefully reviewed to ensure that federal funds would not be used to facilitate harm to human embryos. Obama’s recent presidential order overturned the Bush restrictions. Dickey-Wicker however still stands.. But for how long?<br /><br />Notes:<br /><br />[1] I critiqued several of the most prominent theoretical arguments against the personhood of human embryos in my June 2008 CLF Brief entitled “Arguments for and Against the Personhood of the Embryo”, so I do not intend to engage that question here.<br /><br />[2] See Pontifical Academy for Life, Declaration on the Production and the Scientific and Therapeutic Use of Human Embryonic Stem Cells (August 25, 2000); Catholic Online, “American Bishops Reaffirm Church Support for Adult Stem-Cell Research,” www.catholic.. org, June 26, 2006, www.catholic. org/national/ national_ story.php? id=20275.<br /><br />[3] See Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction Dignitas Personae (On Certain Bioethical Questions) (2008), nos. 24, 31, 32.<br /><br />[4] For an enlightening updated summary of clinical successes using ASCs prepared by the Family Research Council, see<br />http://www.frc. org/insight/ adult-stem- cell-success- stories-2008- update-july- december<br /><br />[5] Recall the recent tragic story of the 9 year old Israeli boy, who received embryonic stem cell injections in Russia for a lethal brain disease, and contracted as a result tumors on his brain and spinal cord; see CBS News report, “Study: Stem Cell Injections Caused Tumors: Israeli Researchers Say Fetal Stem Cells Led To Benign Tumors For Boy With Rare Genetic Disease,” Feb. 17, 2009; available at http://www.cbsnews. com/stories/ 2009/02/17/ health/main48083 39.shtml? source=RSSattr= Health_4808339<br /><br />[6] Induced pluripotent stem cells are differentiated cells such as a skin cell that are “reprogrammed” back to a state of pluripotency. They were first reported in research with human cells in November 2007. I describe their advent and initial promise in my CLF Brief from January 2008, “A Moral Tsunami”. Since then dozens of studies have been carried out (and published) perfecting the initiate technique. For example, researchers at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Mass., recently converted skin cells from patients with Parkinson’s disease into the type of neuron destroyed by the disease. Although the technique needs perfecting, it promises to provide a therapy one day that replaces the damaged neural tissue of Parkinson’s sufferers with healthy tissue derived from the patient’s own body, and therefore with no risk of immune rejection. See the NY Times on line report, “Converting Cells Shows Promise for Parkinson’s”, March 6, 2009, available at www.nytimes. com/2009/ 03/06/health/ 06parkinsons. html<br /><br />[7] See Bernadine Healy’s piece in US News and World Report on line, “Why Embryonic Stem Cells Are Obsolete” March 04, 2009, available at http://health. usnews.com/ blogs/heart- to-heart/ 2009/3/4/ why-embryonic- stem-cells- are-obsolete. html<br /><br />[8] The exchange between Hoyer and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on March 12, 2009 can be read in the Congressional Record, House, page H3376, March 12, 2009.<br /><br /></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" width="25" border="0" height="25" /></a><a href="http://pondongpinoy.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" lowsrc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" width="25" border="0" height="25" /></a><a href="http://sanpablomedia.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" width="25" border="0" height="25" /></a></div>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-35431090398572949202010-03-28T19:26:00.001+08:002010-03-28T19:30:13.720+08:00Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children<div style="text-align: center;">Fact Sheet No.23,<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">States Parties shall take all appropriate measures ... to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination ofprejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of<br /></div>the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women.<br /><br />CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN (art. 5 (a)),<br />adopted by General Assembly resolution 34/180 of 18 December 1979.<br />________________________________________<br />Contents:<br />• Introduction<br />• I. An appraisal of harmful traditional practices and their effects on women and the girld child<br />• II. Review of action and activities by United Nations organs and agencies, Governments and NGOs<br />• Conclusions<br /><br />• Annex:<br /> - Plan of Action for the Elimination of Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children<br /><br /> - Select Bibliography<br />________________________________________<br /><br />Introduction<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The Charter of the United Nations includes among its basic principles the achievement of international cooperation in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion (Art. 1, para. 3).<br /><br />In 1948, three years after the adoption of the Charter, the General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,(1) which has served as guiding principles on human rights and fundamental freedoms in the constitutions and laws of many of the Member States of the United Nations. The Universal Declaration prohibits all forms of discrimination based on sex and ensures the right to life, liberty and security of person; it recognizes equality before the law and equal protection against any discrimination in violation of the Declaration.<br /><br />Many international legal instruments on human rights further reinforce individual rights, and also protect-and prohibit discrimination against-specific groups, in particular women. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, for example, had been ratified by 136 States as of January 1995. The Convention obliges States parties, in general, to "pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women" (art. 2). It reaffirms the equality of human rights for women and men in society and in the family; it obliges States parties to take action against the social causes of women's inequality; and it calls for the elimination of laws, stereotypes, practices and prejudices that impair women's well-being.<br /><br />Traditional cultural practices reflect values and beliefs held by members of a community for periods often spanning generations. Every social grouping in the world has specific traditional cultural practices and beliefs, some of which are beneficial to all members, while others are harmful to a specific group, such as women. These harmful traditional practices include female genital mutilation (FGM); forced feeding of women; early marriage; the various taboos or practices which prevent women from controlling their own fertility; nutritional taboos and traditional birth practices; son preference and its implications for the status of the girl child; female infanticide; early pregnancy; and dowry price. Despite their harmful nature and their violation of international human rights laws, such practices persist because they are not questioned and take on an aura of morality in the eyes of those practising them.<br /><br />The international community has become aware of the need to achieve equality between the sexes and of the fact that an equitable society cannot be attained if fundamental human rights of half of human society, i.e. women, continue to be denied and violated. However, the bleak reality is that the harmful traditional practices focused on in this Fact Sheet have been performed for male benefit. Female sexual control by men, and the economic and political subordination of women, perpetuate the inferior status of women and inhibit structural and attitudinal changes necessary to eliminate gender inequality.<br /><br />As early as the 1950s, United Nations specialized agencies and human rights bodies began considering the question of harmful traditional practices affecting the health of women, in particular female genital mutilation. But these issues have not received consistent broader consideration, and action to bring about any substantial change has been slow or superficial.<br /><br />A number of reasons are given for the persistence of traditional practices detrimental to the health and status of women, including the fact that, in the past, neither the Governments concerned nor the international community challenged the sinister implications of such practices, which violate the rights to health, life, dignity and personal integrity. The international community remained wary about treating these issues as a deserving subject for international and national scrutiny and action. Harmful practices such as female genital mutilation were considered sensitive cultural issues falling within the spheres of women and the family. For a long time, Governments and the international community had not expressed sympathy and understanding for women who, due to ignorance or unawareness of their rights, endured pain, suffering and even death inflicted on themselves and their female children.<br /><br />Despite the apparent slowness of action to challenge and eliminate harmful traditional practices, the activities of human rights bodies in this field have, in recent years, resulted in noticeable progress. Traditional practices have become a recognized issue concerning the status and human rights of women and female children. The slogan "Women's Rights are Human Rights", adopted at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993, as well as the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, adopted by the General Assembly the same year, captured the reality of the status accorded to women. These issues have been further emphasized in the reports of the Special Rapporteur on harmful traditional practices, Mrs. Halima Embarek Warzazi, appointed in 1988, and in the draft Platform for Action for the Fourth World Conference on Women, to be held in September 1995.<br /><br />The Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, appointed by the Commission on Human Rights in 1994, has also examined all forms of traditional practices referred to in this Fact Sheet, as well as other practices, including virginity tests, foot binding, female infanticide and dowry deaths, all of which violate female dignity. In her preliminary report, the Special Rapporteur pointed out that<br /><br />blind adherence to these practices and State inaction with regard to these customs and traditions have made possible large-scale violence against women. States are enacting new laws and regulations with regard to the development of a modern economy and modern technology and to developing practices which suit a modern democracy, yet it seems that in the area of women's rights change is slow to be accepted. (E/CN.4/1995/42, para. 67.)<br /><br />The harmful traditional practices identified in this Fact Sheet are categorized as separate issues; however, they are all consequences of the value placed on women and the girl child by society. They persist in an environment where women and the girl child have unequal access to education, wealth, health and employment.<br /><br />In part I, the Fact Sheet identifies and analyses the background to harmful traditional practices, their causes, and their consequences for the health of women and the girl child. Part II reviews the action taken by United Nations organs and agencies, Governments and organizations (NGOs). The Conclusions highlight the drawbacks in the implementation of the practical steps identified by the United Nations, NGOs and women's organizations.<br />________________________________________<br /><br />I. An appraisal of harmful traditional practices and their effects on women and the girl child<br /><br /><br /><br />A. Female genital mutilation(2)<br /><br />Female genital mutilation (FGM), or female circumcision as it is sometimes erroneously referred to, involves surgical removal of parts or all of the most sensitive female genital organs. It is an age-old practice which is perpetuated in many communities around the world simply because it is customary. FGM forms an important part of the rites of passage ceremony for some communities, marking the coming of age of the female child. It is believed that, by mutilating the female's genital organs, her sexuality will be controlled; but above all it is to ensure a woman's virginity before marriage and chastity thereafter. In fact, FGM imposes on women and the girl child a catalogue of health complications and untold psychological problems. The practice of FGM violates, among other international human rights laws, the right of the child to the "enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health", as laid down in article 24 (paras. 1 and 3) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.<br /><br />The origin of FGM has not yet been established, but records show that the practice predates Christianity and Islam in practising communities of today. In ancient Rome, metal rings were passed through the labia minora of slaves to prevent procreation; in medieval England, metal chastity belts were worn by women to prevent promiscuity during their husbands' absence; evidence from mummified bodies reveals that, in ancient Egypt, both excision and infibulation were performed, hence Pharaonic circumcision; in tsarist Russia, as well as nineteenth-century England, France and America, records indicate the practice of clitoridectomy. In England and America, FGM was performed on women as a "cure" for numerous psychological ailments.<br /><br />The age at which mutilation is carried out varies from area to area. FGM is performed on infants as young as a few days old, on children from 7 to 10 years old, and on adolescents. Adult women also undergo the operation at the time of marriage. Since FGM is performed on infants as well as adults, it can no longer be seen as marking the rites of passage into adulthood, or as ensuring virginity.<br /><br />Among the types of surgical operation on the female genital organs listed below, there are many variations, performed throughout Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, Australia and Latin America.<br /><br />Types of surgical forms<br /><br />(a) Circumcision or Sunna ("traditional") circumcision: This involves the removal of the prepuce and the tip of the clitoris. This is the only operation which, medically, can be likened to male circumcision.<br /><br />(b) Excision or clitoridectomy: This involves the removal of the clitoris, and often also the labia minora. It is the most common operation and is practised throughout Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula.<br /><br />(c) Infibulation or Pharaonic circumcision: This is the most severe operation, involving excision plus the removal of the labia majora and the sealing of the two sides, through stitching or natural fusion of scar tissue. What is left is a very smooth surface, and a small opening to permit urination and the passing of menstrual blood. This artificial opening is sometimes no larger than the head of a match.<br /><br />Another form of mutilation which has been reported is introcision, practised specifically by the Pitta-Patta aborigines of Australia. When a girl reaches puberty, the whole tribe-both sexes-assembles. The operator, an elderly man, enlarges the vaginal orifice by tearing it downward with three fingers bound with opossum string. In other districts, the perineum is split with a stone knife. This is usually followed by compulsory sexual intercourse with a number of young men.<br /><br />It is reported that introcision has been practised in eastern Mexico and in Brazil. In Peru, in particular among the Conibos, a division of the Pano Indians in the north-east, an operation is performed in which, as soon as a girl reaches maturity, she is intoxicated and subjected to mutilation in front of her community. The operation is performed by an elderly woman, using a bamboo knife. She cuts around the hymen from the vaginal entrance and severs the hymen from the labia, at the same time exposing the clitoris. Medicinal herbs are applied, followed by the insertion into the vagina of a slightly moistened penis-shaped object made of clay.<br /><br />Like all other harmful traditional practices, FGM is performed by women, with a few exceptions (in Egypt, men are known to perform the operation). In most rural settings throughout Africa, the operation is accompanied with celebrations and often takes place away from the community at a special hidden place. The operation is carried out by women (excisors) who have acquired their "skills" from their mothers or other female relatives; they are often also the community's traditional birth attendants.<br /><br />The type of operation to be performed is decided by the girl's mother or grandmother beforehand and payment is made to the excisor before, during and after the operation, to ensure the best service. This payment, partly in kind and partly in cash, is a vital source of livelihood for the excisors.<br /><br />The conditions under which these operations take place are often unhygienic and the instruments used are crude and unsterilized. A kitchen knife, a razor-blade, a piece of glass or even a sharp fingernail are the tools of the trade. These instruments are used repeatedly on numerous girls, thus increasing the risk of blood-transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.<br /><br />The operation takes between 10 and 20 minutes, depending on its nature; in most cases, anaesthetic is not administered. The child is held down by three or four women while the operation is done. The wound is then treated by applying mixtures of local herbs, earth, cow-dung, ash or butter, depending on the skills of the excisor. If infibulation is performed, the child's legs are bound together to impair mobility for up to 40 days. If the child dies from complications, the excisor is not held responsible; rather, the death is attributed to evil spirits or fate. Throughout South-East Asia and urban African communities, FGM is becoming increasingly medicalized.<br /><br />FGM is known to be practised in at least 25 countries in Africa. Infibulation is practised in Djibouti, Egypt, some parts of Ethiopia, Mali, Somalia and the northern part of the Sudan. Excision and circumcision occur in parts of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, the Gambia, the northern part of Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Uganda and parts of the United Republic of Tanzania.<br /><br />Outside Africa, a certain form of female genital mutilation exists in Indonesia, Malaysia and Yemen. Recent information has revealed that the practice also exists in some European countries and Australia among immigrant communities.<br /><br />FGM is a custom or tradition synthesized over time from various values, especially religious and cultural values. The reasons for maintaining the practice include religion, custom, decreasing the sexual desire of women, hygiene, aesthetics, facility of sexual relations, fertility, etc. In general, it can be said that those who preserve the practice are largely women who live in traditional societies in rural areas. Most of these women follow tradition passively.<br /><br />In the countries where the practice exists, most women believe that, as good Muslims, for example, they have to undergo the operation. In order to be clean and proper, fit for marriage, female circumcision is a precondition. Among the Bambara in Mali, it is believed that, if the clitoris touches the head of a baby being born, the child will die. The clitoris is seen as the male characteristic of the woman; in order to enhance her femininity, this male part of her has to be removed. Among women in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia and the Sudan, circumcision is performed to reduce sexual desire and also to maintain virginity until marriage. A circumcised woman is considered to be clean.<br /><br />Establishing identity and belongingness is another reason advanced for the perpetuation of the practice. For example, in Liberia and Sierra Leone, groups of girls of 12 and 13 of the indigenous population undergo an initiation rite, conducted by an older woman "Sowie". This involves education on how to be a good wife or co-wife, the use of herbal medicine and the "secrets" of female society. It also involves the ritual of circumcision.<br /><br />Health and psychological implications<br /><br />The effects of female genital mutilation have short-term and long-term implications. Haemorrhage, infection and acute pain are the immediate consequences. Keloid formation, infertility as a result of infection, obstructed labour and psychological complications are identified as later effects. In rural areas where untrained traditional birth attendants perform the operations, complications resulting from deep cuts and infected instruments can cause the death of the child.<br /><br />Most physical complications result from infibulation, although cataclysmic haemorrhage can occur during circumcision with the removal of the clitoris; accidental cuts to other organs can also lead to heavy loss of blood. Acute infections are commonplace when operations are carried out in unhygienic surroundings and with unsterilized instruments. The application of traditional medicine can also lead to infection, resulting in tetanus and general septicaemia. Chronic infection can also lead to infertility and anaemia.<br /><br />Haematocolpos, or the inability to pass menstrual blood (because the remaining opening is often too small), can lead to infection of other organs and also infertility.<br /><br />Obstetric complications are the most frequent health problem, resulting from vicious scars in the clitoral zone after excision. These scars open during childbirth and cause the anterior perineum to tear, leading to haemorrhaging that is often difficult to stop. Infibulated women have to be opened, or deinfibulated, on delivery of their child and it is common for them to be reinfibulated after each delivery.<br /><br />There has been little research in the area of the psychological implications of FGM, but evidence indicates that most children experience recurring nightmares.<br /><br />In her recent book, Cutting the Rose-Female Genital Mutilation: The Practice and its Prevention,(3) Efua Dorkenoo reports that some evidence of psychological effects is emerging among the large immigrant communities now living in Europe, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand. Teenagers, in particular, are having to live in two very different cultures, where different values prevail. At school they move within the very liberal setting of the Western culture; at home they have to conform to values held by their parents. Some of these values often conflict. For some teenagers this is proving to be problematic. Girls who have been genitally mutilated have to come to terms with the fact that they are not like their classmates. Mood swings and irritability, a constant state of depression, and anxiety have all been noted among infibulated girls. A small number, upon reaching the age of consent, are being deinfibulated without their parents' knowledge and engaging in premarital relationships, thus validating the reasoning behind their parents' wishes to have the operation performed.<br /><br />There are also reports of psychological and health problems suffered by women seeking medical assistance in Western medical,,facilities due to lack of knowledge regarding genital mutilation. Excised and infibulated women have special needs which have been ignored or dealt with on a trial-and-error basis. In Western countries, severe forms of FGM present challenges to midwives and obstetricians in providing antenatal and post-natal care. For example, professionals need training to know how to deliver infibulated women. The provision of health care for women and girls who have been genitally mutilated should be appropriate and sensitive to their needs. Health promotion work through women's health services can develop appropriate information materials and actively contribute to outreach work and awareness raising.<br /><br />B. Son preference and its implications for the status of the girl child<br /><br />One of the principal forms of discrimination and one which has far-reaching implications for women is the preference accorded to the boy child over the girl child. This practice denies the girl child good health, education, recreation, economic opportunity and the right to choose her partner, violating her rights under articles 2, 6, 12, 19, 24, 27 and 28 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.<br /><br />Son preference refers to a whole range of values and attitudes which are manifested in many different practices, the common feature of which is a preference for the male child, often with concomitant daughter neglect. It may mean that a female child is disadvantaged from birth; it may determine the quality and quantity of parental care and the extent of investment in her development; and it may lead to acute discrimination, particularly in settings where resources are scarce. Although neglect is the rule, in extreme cases son preference may lead to selective abortion or female infanticide.<br /><br />In many societies, the family lineage is carried on by male children. The preservation of the family name is guaranteed through the son(s). Except in a few countries (e.g. Ethiopia), a girl takes her husband's family name, dropping that of her own parents. The fear of losing a name prompts families to wish to have a son. Some men marry a second or a third wife to be sure of having a male child. Among many communities in Asia and Africa, sons perform burial rites for parents. Parents with no male child do not expect to have an appropriate burial to "secure their peace in the next world". In almost all religions, ceremonies are performed by men. Priests, pastors, sheikhs and other religious leaders are men of great status to whom society attaches great importance, and this important role for men obliges parents to wish for a male child. Religious leaders have a major involvement in the perpetuation of son preference.<br /><br />Son preference is universal and not unique to developing countries or rural areas. It is a practice enshrined in the value systems of most societies. It thus dictates the value judgements, expectations and behaviour of family members.<br /><br />Son preference is a transcultural phenomenon, more marked in Asian societies and historically rooted in the patriarchal system. In certain countries in the Asian region, the phenomenon is less prevalent than in others. Son preference is stronger in countries where patriarchy and patriliny are more firmly rooted. Tribal societies, which are matrilineal societies, tended to be more gender egalitarian until the advent of settled agriculture.<br /><br />In almost all regions, the practice is rooted in culture and the economics of son preference, these factors playing a major role in the low valuation and neglect of female children. The practice of son preference emerged with the shift from subsistence agriculture, which was primarily controlled by women, to settled agriculture, which is primarily controlled by men. In the patrilineal landowning communities with settled agriculture which are prevalent in the Asian region, the economic obligations of sons towards parents are greater. The son is considered to be the family pillar, who ensures continuity and protection of the family property. Sons provide the workforce and have to bring in a bride-"an extra pair of hands". Sons are the source of family income and have to provide for parents in their old age. They are also the interpreters of religious teachings and the performers of rituals, especially on the death of parents, which include feeding a large number of people, sometimes several villages. As soldiers, sons protect the community and hold political power.<br /><br />Son preference in the Asian region manifests itself either covertly or overtly. The birth of a son is welcomed with celebration as an asset, whereas that of a girl is seen as a liability, an impending economic drain. According to an Asian proverb, "bringing up girls is like watering the neighbour's garden".<br /><br />Psychological and health consequences<br /><br />The psychological effect of son preference on women and the girl child is the internalization of the low value accorded them by society. Scientific evidence of the deleterious effect of son preference on the health of female children is scarce, but abnormal sex ratios in infant and young child mortality rates, in nutritional status indicators and even in population figures show that discriminatory practices are widespread and have serious repercussions. Geographically, there is often a close correspondence between the areas of strong son preference and of health disadvantage for females.<br /><br />The areas most affected by the problem seem to be South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan), the Middle East (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Morocco, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey) and parts of Africa (Cameroon, Liberia, Madagascar, Senegal). In Latin America, there is evidence of abnormal sex ratios in mortality figures in Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.<br /><br />Discrimination in the feeding and care of female infants and/or higher rates of morbidity and malnutrition have been reported in most of the countries already listed and also in Bolivia, Colombia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Nigeria, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia. More than two thirds of the world's population live in countries where registration of death does not occur and many more live in countries where death rates are not published by sex. Moreover, discrimination against girls has to be extreme to emerge in mortality rates. For every growing girls who dies, there are many whose health and potential for growth and development are permanently impaired. Countless reports the world over have demonstrated that, in societies where son preference is practised, the health of the female child is adversely affected.<br /><br />In some communities in the Asian region where son preference is highly marked, efforts to differentiate a female child from a male child through various socio-economic norms and practices start as early as the foetal stage and continue throughout the entire life cycle. In these communities, amniocentesis tests and sonography for sex determination have resulted in the abortion of female foetuses. The introduction and expansion of scientific methods of sex detection have led to a revival of female foeticide and infanticide.<br /><br />Education<br /><br />Access to education by itself is not enough to eliminate values held by society, for such values are in most countries transmitted into educational curricula and textbooks. Women are thus still depicted as passive and domestically oriented, while men are depicted as dominant and as breadwinners.<br /><br />Education does, however, offer the female child an improved opportunity to be less dependent on men in later life. It increases her prospects of obtaining work outside the home. As laid down in articles 28 and 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, all children have the right to education, and the content of such education should be directed to the development of the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential.<br /><br />According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the expansion of educational opportunities over the past several decades has clearly affected girls, although this has not been a result of deliberate policy to reduce gender disparities in educational access. Girls' education, measured by gross primary school enrolment ratios, has improved substantially in the Middle East and North Africa region, for example. Nevertheless, in 1990, the region still had 44 million illiterate mothers, a large and increasing backlog left over from times of lower enrolment levels. Differences in primary school enrolment levels for boys and girls and competition between them are still very significant in a number of countries. In countries where overall enrolment is much lower than desired, girls are particularly disadvantaged.<br /><br />Although in many countries school drop-out rates are steadily falling, they continue to be higher among girls than among boys. The reasons for the high drop-out rate among girls are poverty, early marriage, helping parents with housework and agricultural work, the distance of schools from homes, the high costs of schooling, parents' illiteracy and indifference, and the lack of a positive educational climate. Girls begin school very late and withdraw with the onset of puberty. Parents do not see the benefits of girls' education because girls are given away in marriage to serve the husband's family. Sons are given priority. In certain countries, enrolment rates for girls have actually declined despite attempts to increase them.<br /><br />Recreation and work opportunities<br /><br />According to article 31, paragraph 1, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, States parties "recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities". However, from an early age, girls from rural and poor urban homes are burdened with domestic tasks and child care, which leaves them no time to play. Studies have shown that recreation plays a vital part in a child's emotional and mental development. When time for play is found by girls, it often takes place near the home. Young boys, however, have fewer demands made of them and are allowed to engage in activities outside the home. The status of girls is linked to that of women and their exploitation. A woman's work never ends, especially in rural areas and in poor urban households.<br /><br />The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women calls for the elimination of discrimination against women in the field of employment, "in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights" (art. 11, para. 1). It also calls upon States to ensure that women in rural areas have access to agricultural credit and loans, marketing facilities, appropriate technology and equal treatment in land and agrarian reform (art. 14, para. 2 (g)). Evidence indicates, however, that as girls grow older they face discriminatory treatment in gaining access to economic opportunities. Major inequalities persist in employment, access to credit, inheritance rights, marriage laws and other socio-economic dispensations. Compared with men, women have fewer opportunities for paid employment and less access to skill training that would make such employment possible. Women are usually restricted to low-paid and casual jobs, or to informal activities.<br /><br />Landlessness has increased among women, and the number of women cultivators has declined in some regions, partly due to increased mechanization of agriculture. An increasing number of women in most developing countries are occupied in the informal, invisible sectors where national social and labour legislation on maternity benefits, equal wages and crèche facilities does not apply.<br /><br />C. Female infanticide<br /><br />Sex bias or son preference places the female child in a disadvantageous position from birth. In some communities, however, particularly in Asia, the practice of infanticide ensures that some female children have no life at all, violating the basic right to life laid down in article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Selective abortion, foeticide and infanticide all occur because the female child is not valued by her culture, or because certain economic and legislative acts have ruled her life worthless.<br /><br />In India, for example, infanticide was formally legislated against during British rule, after centuries of practice in some communities. However, recent reports have shown that there is a revival.<br /><br />In certain parts of India and Pakistan, women are still considered unnecessary evils. In the past, when victorious armies took their revenge on defeated communities, women were raped as part of the spoils of war. Subsequently, these communities resorted to killing their daughters at birth or when the enemy was advancing, to spare the female population and community from shame.<br /><br />Modern techniques such as amniocentesis and ultrasound tests have given women greater power to detect the sex of their babies in time to abort. Illegal abortion, particularly of female foetuses, either self-inflicted or performed by unskilled birth attendants, under poor sanitary conditions has led to increased maternal mortality, particularly in South and South-East Asia.<br /><br />Female foeticide is an emerging problem in some parts of India, and the Government has introduced a bill in Parliament to ban the use of amniocentesis for sex-determination purposes. Such misuse of amniocentesis is also prohibited in the States of Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana, where the problem is more prevalent.<br /><br />D. Early marriage and dowry<br /><br />Early marriage is another serious problem which some girls, as opposed to boys, must face. The practice of giving away girls for marriage at the age of 11, 12 or 13, after which they must start producing children, is prevalent among certain ethnic groups in Asia and Africa. The principal reasons for this practice are the girls' virginity and the bride-price. Young girls are less likely to have had sexual contact and thus are believed to be virgins upon marriage; this condition raises the family status as well as the dowry to be paid by the husband. In some cases, virginity is verified by female relatives before the marriage.<br /><br />Child marriage robs a girl of her childhood-time necessary to develop physically, emotionally and psychologically. In fact, early marriage inflicts great emotional stress as the young woman is removed from her parents' home to that of her husband and in-laws. Her husband, who will invariably be many years her senior, will have little in common with a young teenager. It is with this strange man that she has to develop an intimate emotional and physical relationship. She is obliged to have intercourse, although physically she might not be fully developed.<br /><br />Girls from communities where early marriages occur are also victims of son preferential treatment and will probably be malnourished, and consequently have stunted physical growth.<br /><br />Neglect of and discrimination against daughters, particularly in societies with strong son preference, also contribute to early marriage of girls. It has been generally recognized at United Nations seminars on traditional practices affecting women and children, and on the basis of research, that early marriage devalues women in some societies and that the practice continues as a result of son preference. In some countries, girls as young as a few months old are promised to male suitors for marriage. Girls are fattened up, groomed, adorned with jewels and kept in seclusion to make them attractive so that they can be married off to the highest bidder.<br /><br />Health complications that result from early marriage in the Middle East and North Africa, for example, include the risk of operative delivery, low weight and malnutrition resulting from frequent pregnancies and lactation in the period of life when the young mothers are themselves still growing.<br /><br />Another economic reason which perpetuates the practice of female genital mutilation is related to dowries.<br /><br />The dowry price of a woman is her exchange value in cash, kind or any other agreed form, such as a period of employment. This value is determined by the family of the bride-to-be and her future in-laws. Both families must gain from the exchange. The woman's in-laws want an extra pair of hands and children; her family desire payment which will provide greater security for other relatives. The dowry price will be higher if the woman's virginity has been preserved, notably through genital mutilation.<br /><br />In certain communities in South Asia, the low status of girls has to be compensated for by the payment of a dowry by the parents of the girl to the husband at the time of marriage. This has resulted in a number of dowry crimes, including mental and physical torture, starvation, rape, and even the burning alive of women by their husbands and/or in-laws in cases where dowry payments are not met.<br /><br />It should be noted that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in a number of recommendations in the light of article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, has called upon States to recognize the principle of equality before the law and forbid gender discrimination, including the adoption of legislation prohibiting harmful traditional practices such as genital mutilation, forced and early marriage of girl children, early pregnancy and related prejudicial health practices.<br /><br />The work of the Committee has also permitted the identification of certain areas where law reform should be undertaken, in both civil and penal areas, such as the minimum age for marriage and establishment of the age of criminal responsibility as being the attainment of puberty. Some States have argued that girls attain their physical maturity earlier, but it is the view of the Committee that maturity cannot simply be identified with physical development when social and mental development are lacking and that, on the basis of such criteria, girls are considered adults before the law upon marriage, thus being deprived of the comprehensive protection ensured by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The International Conference on Population and Development, held at Cairo in September 1994 (see p. 36 below), encouraged Governments to raise the minimum age for marriage. In her preliminary report to the Commission on Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, also recognized that the age of marriage was a factor contributing to the violation of women's rights (E/CN.4/1995/42, para. 165).<br /><br />E. Early pregnancy, nutritional taboos and practices related to child delivery<br /><br />Early pregnancy can have harmful consequences for both young mothers and their babies. According to UNICEF, no girl should become pregnant before the age of 18 because she is not yet physically ready to bear children. Babies of mothers younger than 18 tend to be born premature and have low body weight; such babies are more likely to die in the first year of life. The risk to the young mother's own health is also greater. Poor health is common among indigent pregnant and lactating women.<br /><br />In many parts of the developing world, especially in rural areas, girls marry shortly after puberty and are expected to start having children immediately. Although the situation has improved since the early 1980s, in many areas the majority of girls under 20 years of age are already married and having children. Although many countries have raised the legal age for marriage, this has had little impact on traditional societies where marriage and child-bearing confer "status" on a woman.<br /><br />Those who start having children early generally have more children, at shorter intervals, than those who embark on parenthood later. Fertility rates have been falling over the past decade, but they remain very high in Africa, parts of Latin America and Asia. Once again, the link between delayed child-bearing and education is crucial.<br /><br />An additional health risk to young mothers is obstructed labour, which occurs when the baby's head is too big for the orifice of the mother. This provokes vesicovaginal fistulas, especially when an untrained traditional birth attendant forces the baby's head out unduly.<br /><br />Generally throughout the developing world, the average food intake of pregnant and lactating mothers is far below that of the average male. Cultural practices, including nutritional taboos, ensure that pregnant women are deprived of essential nutriments, and as a result they tend to suffer from iron and protein deficiencies.<br /><br />Poor health can be improved by a more balanced diet. The choice of food consumed is determined by a number of factors, including availability of natural resources, economics, religious beliefs, social status and traditional taboos. Because these factors place limits in one way or another on the intake of food, communities and individuals are deprived of essential nutriments and, as a result, physical and mental development is impaired. This is generally the case in most developing countries, but especially throughout Africa.<br /><br />Although poor distribution of resources-whether due to harsh geographical or climatic conditions in a region, or to poverty resulting from a lack of purchasing power-contributes greatly to the severe imbalance of diets throughout Africa, taboos placed on food for religious or cultural reasons are an unnecessary practice which exacerbates the situation.<br /><br />The reasons for such taboos are many, but all are steeped in superstition. Many taboos are upheld because it is believed that the consumption of a particular animal or plant will bring harm to the individual.<br /><br />Permanent taboos are also placed on female members of most communities throughout Africa. From infancy, the female child is given a low-nutrition diet. She is weaned at a much earlier age than the male infant, and throughout her life she will be deprived of high-protein food such as animal meat, eggs, fish and milk. As a result, the intake of nutriments by the female population is lower than that of the male population.<br /><br />Temporary taboos which are applicable only at certain times in the life of an individual also affect women disproportionately. Most communities throughout Africa have food taboos specially for pregnant women. Often these taboos exclude the consumption of nutriments essential for the expectant mother and foetus.<br /><br />These nutritional taboos are unnecessary impositions made on women, who are already malnourished. It is perhaps not surprising that maternal and infant mortality rates are so high and life expectancy low in the countries concerned. But nutritional taboos also have far-reaching implications for women in the field of work, where their levels of productivity can be affected.<br /><br />Lack of basic knowledge of human bodily functions can lead to illogical conclusions when illness sets in, or especially when a mother or her infant dies. Surrounded by myths and superstition, what may be a simple mishap can be explained in much more sinister terms as the product of evil spirits or bad omens.<br /><br />Most rural areas throughout the developing world have disproportionately fewer health centres and clinics, trained midwives, nurses and doctors than urban areas. For most rural dwellers, health treatment must be obtained from traditional birth attendants (TBAs). Most TBAs have no formal training in health practices but acquire their skills via apprenticeship. These are skills passed down through generations of women. By observing a given situation, the TBA learns which remedy to use for which illness, or how to perform different kinds of delivery. If the situation changes, they try to adapt their knowledge and remedies and hope that that works. If things go wrong, however, supernatural explanations are given; blame is never attributed to the TBA.<br /><br />According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than half the births in developing nations are attended by TBAs and relatives. Although these women have every good intention to assist their patients, mortality rates are higher in the rural areas where they operate.<br /><br />The use of herbal mixtures and magic is common during delivery throughout Africa. The chemical components of some of these mixtures are beneficial, but others are quite lethal, especially when taken in large dosage.<br /><br />In the case of obstructed labour, the abdomen is at times massaged or pressed to force the baby out. Some TBAs perform surgical operations to extract the foetus, using a knife or razor-blade to cut the labia minora and vaginal opening. A similar operation, known as the "Gishiri cut", is performed in some parts of Africa, and the likely complications are known to be haemorrhaging and infection.<br /><br />Among the most bizarre treatments for obstructed labour are the psychological ones. In many societies, difficulty in labour or delay in delivery is believed to be punishment for marital infidelity. The woman is pressured to confess her misdeed so that labour may continue without complications. This practice, which inflicts great mental cruelty on a woman already in agony due to obstructed labour, is prevalent in several African countries. In addition to the psychological trauma suffered by the woman, the practice further delays her being taken to hospital.<br /><br />Treatment of obstructed labour by ineffective and harmful traditional methods can also cause uterine rupture. Rupture of the uterus still constitutes one of the major causes of maternal death in obstetric practice in developing countries. Death rates as high as 37 per cent have been reported in studies of hospitalized women with ruptured uterus. Foetal mortality is also very high: it was 100 per cent in a study of 144 cases of uterine rupture in one African country and 96 per cent in an Indian review of 181 cases.<br /><br />Even when obstructed labour does not result in maternal death, it leads to prolonged or even permanent ill health in the majority of cases. For example, vesicovaginal fistula is a condition that has traumatic physical as well as social consequences. Due to prolonged pressure on the bladder during obstructed labour, the lower genital tract is severely damaged, causing a false passage between the bladder and the vagina. The woman suffers from incontinence of urine and sometimes of faeces as well, since 10 to 15 per cent of all vesicovaginal fistula cases have associated rectovaginal fistula.<br /><br />In two African countries, a practice known as "Zur Zur" is performed on women between the 34th and 35th weeks of their first pregnancy. A deep cut is made in the anterior wall of the vagina, sometimes on the posterior wall. The wound is allowed to bleed, then the woman rests for a while before being sent home to nurse her wound. The purpose of this operation is to prepare the woman for an easy delivery. However, the consequences can be death through excessive bleeding, shock, infection of the birth canal, and vesicovaginal or vaginal fistula.<br /><br />Misdiagnoses have been made by midwives and doctors who receive these women once complications set in. The bleeding is often mistaken for an ante-partum haemorrhage, and Caesarean sections have been performed; but invariably the bleeding continues. Midwives are fighting to get the practice stopped in the countries concerned.<br /><br />Various forms of contraception and methods of tightening the vagina are practised throughout the world. Many involve inserting herbal mixtures and foreign objects-for example, aluminium hydroxide, cloth, stone, soap and lime-into the vagina. Many of these inserts have an irritating or erosive effect on the vaginal mucosa, which is a natural defence against infections and disease, such as HIV.<br /><br />F. Violence against women<br /><br />Most of the practices reviewed so far constitute acts of violence against women or the girl child by the family and the community, and are often condoned by the State. In its resolution 1994/45 of 4 March 1994, the Commission on Human Rights recognized other forms of non-traditional practices, such as rape and domestic violence, as violence against women. In that resolution (paras. 6 and 8), the Commission decided to appoint, for a three-year period, a special rapporteur on violence against women, including its causes and consequences. Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy of Sri Lanka was subsequently appointed Special Rapporteur on violence against women.<br /><br />This appointment came after more than two decades of tireless campaigning by women worldwide. An important step marked by resolution 1994/45 was that, for the first time, Governments were held accountable for acts of violence against women committed by the private individual.<br /><br />In the same resolution (para. 7), the Commission invited the Special Rapporteur, in carrying out her mandate, and within the framework of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all other international human rights instruments, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, inter alia, to recommend measures, at the national, regional and international levels, to eliminate violence against women and its causes, and to remedy its consequences.<br /><br />The Special Rapporteur's mandate includes carrying out field missions, either separately or jointly with other special rapporteurs and working groups, and consulting periodically with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. In addition, the Commission requested the Secretary-General to ensure that the reports of the Special Rapporteur are brought to the attention of the Commission on the Status of Women.<br /><br />The Special Rapporteur submitted a preliminary report to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-first session, in 1995 (E/CN.4/1995/42).<br />________________________________________<br /><br /><br />II. Review of action and activities by United Nations organs and agencies, Governments and NGOs<br /><br /><br /><br />A. United Nations organs and agencies<br /><br />Action on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children, in particular female genital mutilation (FGM), was first taken in 1958 when the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) invited the World Health Organization WHO to undertake a study of the persistence of customs subjecting girls to ritual operations and to communicate the results of the study to the Commission on the Status of Women.<br /><br />In 1960, the issue of FGM was debated at the Seminar on the Participation of Women in Public Life, held at Addis Ababa for the African region. Concluding remarks included a call to WHO to make a statement condemning all forms of medicalization of FGM. In its resolution 821 II (XXXII), adopted in July 1961, ECOSOC again invited WHO to study the medical aspects of operations based on customs. A seminar convened in 1979 by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean in Khartoum marked a milestone in the campaign against harmful traditional practices, setting the pace and direction for international and national plans of action. Additional forms of harmful traditional practices were identified and a recommendation was made for the formation of the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children. In addition, the seminar reiterated the concluding remarks made at the 1960 seminar and urged Governments to collaborate with international bodies in a concerted effort to eliminate these practices.<br /><br />Commission on Human Rights and Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities<br /><br />For a number of years, many voices, both national and international, have been echoing the United Nations call for an end to the suffering of girls and women caused by harmful traditional practices. In the 1980s, the campaign against such practices became so widespread that, in 1983, the issue was taken up by the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. The Sub-Commission's recommendation that a working group be established to conduct a study of all aspects of the problem was endorsed by the Commission on Human Rights and the Economic and Social Council.<br /><br />The Working Group on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, composed of experts designated by the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, UNICEF, UNESCO and WHO, and representatives of concerned NGOS, held three sessions in Geneva during 1985 and 1986. The report of the Working Group (E/CN.4/1986/42) was submitted to the Commission on Human Rights at its forty-second session, in 1986.<br /><br />By its resolution 1988/57 of 9 March 1988, the Commission on Human Rights requested the Sub-Commission to consider measures to be taken at the national and international levels to eliminate the practices in question, and to report to the Commission on the subject. Pursuant to that request, the Sub-Commission appointed one of its members, Mrs. Halima Embarek Warzazi, as Special Rapporteur to study, on the basis of information to be gathered from Governments, specialized agencies, other intergovernmental organizations and concerned NGOS, recent developments relating to traditional practices affecting the health of women and children (Sub-Commission resolution 1988/34 of 1 September 1988).<br /><br />The Special Rapporteur submitted a preliminary report (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1989/42 and Add.1) and a final report (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1991/6), containing information received from the above-mentioned sources, as well as information gathered during field missions to the Sudan and Djibouti. These field missions, together with two regional seminars on the subject organized by the Centre for Human Rights in Africa and Asia (Burkina Faso, 1991; Sri Lanka, 1994), have contributed to a better understanding of the phenomenon of harmful traditional practices which violate the rights of women and children.<br /><br />Finally, in its resolution 1994/30 of 26 August 1994, the Sub-Commission adopted the Plan of Action for the Elimination of Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, which was prepared by the Sri Lanka regional seminar (see annex). In the same resolution, the Sub-Commission recommended the extension of the Special Rapporteur's mandate for an additional two years, to enable her to carry out an in-depth analysis of the issue, taking into consideration the conclusions and recommendations of the two regional seminars and the effects of the implementation of the Plan of Action.<br /><br />The resolution also called upon the Secretary-General to transmit the Plan of Action to the International Conference on Population and Development, held at Cairo in September 1994, and to the Fourth World Conference on Women, to be held at Beijing in September 1995. The Special Rapporteur was requested to submit reports at the forty-seventh and forty-eighth sessions of the Sub-Commission, in 1995 and 1996, respectively. The Sub-Commission's recommendations were endorsed by the Commission on Human Rights in its decision 1995/112 of 3 March 1995.<br /><br />Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women<br /><br />At its ninth session, in 1990, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women addressed the issue of harmful traditional practices, in particular FGM. In general recommendation No. 14 adopted at that session, it indicated its recognition of work carried out by women's organizations in identifying and combating harmful traditional practices. The Committee recommended that Governments support those efforts and encourage politicians, professionals, and religious and community leaders at all levels, including the media and the arts, to cooperate in influencing attitudes towards the eradication of FGM. The Committee also called for the introduction of appropriate educational and training programmes and seminars based on research findings about the problems arising from FGM.<br /><br />The same general recommendation urged Governments to:<br />. . .<br />(b) Include in their national health policies appropriate strategies aimed at eradicating [FGM] in public health care ... [including] the special responsibility of . . . traditional birth attendants . . . ;<br /><br />(c) Invite assistance, information and advice from the appropriate organizations of the United Nations system to support and assist efforts being deployed to eliminate harmful traditional practices;<br /><br />(d) Include in their reports to the Committee under articles 10 and 12 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women information about measures taken to eliminate [FGM].<br /><br />United Nations Children's Fund<br /><br />The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has supported a wide range of programme activities for the advancement of women and girls through advocacy, policy-oriented research and technical cooperation. There are many examples in the sectors of health, education, income generation and water supply and sanitation of projects successfully addressing the needs of women and girls and promoting their participation in community development.<br /><br />Special attention is given to the girl child and to the need to reduce disparities in the treatment of boys and girls. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and related policy efforts have stimulated regional and country-level action for advocacy and mobilization in favour of girls and for the elimination of discriminatory social and cultural practices. Social mobilization has focused on changing attitudes, particularly those related to the preference for sons in most countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. UNICEF's national, regional and international advocacy of appropriate policies and its efforts to bring about attitudinal and behavioural change, especially in such critical areas as early marriage, female genital mutilation, teenage pregnancy and female infanticide, will be intensified through support to local and national groups and organizations concerned with these issues.<br /><br />In May 1994, UNICEF's Executive Board requested the Executive Director to give high priority to a number of efforts to promote gender equality and gender-sensitive development programmes, taking into account the special needs of individual countries and, inter alia, the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The priorities for action include:<br /><br />(a) strengthening the integration of gender concerns in country programmes by eliminating the disparities which exist at each stage of the life cycle of girls and women;<br /><br />(b) promotion of ratification and implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child;<br /><br />(c) support for specific action and strategies which promote gender equality within the family, including the sharing of parental responsibilities.<br /><br />UNICEF country offices are working closely with NGO partners and Governments, as well as with other groups, including women's organizations, religious leaders, health workers and teachers.<br /><br />World Health Organization<br /><br />The World Health Organization (WHO) has been concerned with the issue of harmful traditional practices since 1958, when ECOSOC requested a study of the health implications of FGM. At a seminar in 1979, organized by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean in Khartoum (see p. 24 above), WHO condemned FGM as a serious health risk which should be abolished, and called upon medical personnel to refrain from performing FGM.<br /><br />WHO promotes and supports traditional practices which enhance health-for example, breast-feeding-and discourages those which are harmful, particularly to the health of women and girls. Among the latter, female genital mutilation presents the most dramatic risk of ill health, affecting some 75 million women and girls in Africa alone. The organization also discourages nutritional taboos which prevent pregnant and lactating women from eating essential foods. WHO works closely with all concerned national authorities, and particularly with non-governmental organizations, on these issues.<br /><br />In 1993, the Forty-sixth World Health Assembly adopted resolution WHA46.18 on maternal and child health and family planning for health. The resolution expressed concern, inter alia, about the continuing inequities affecting women in general and the persistence of harmful traditional practices such as child marriages, dietary limitations during pregnancy, and FGM. It urged member States to continue to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts to achieve the goal of health for all, in particular in eliminating traditional practices affecting the health of women, children and adolescents.<br /><br />In 1994, the Forty-seventh World Health Assembly adopted resolution WHA47.10, dealing specifically with harmful traditional practices, in which it urged all member States (para. 2):<br /><br />(1) to assess the extent to which harmful traditional practices affecting the health of women and children constitute a social and public health problem in any local community or subgroup;<br /><br />(2) to establish national policies and programmes that will effectively, and with legal instruments, abolish female genital mutilation, child-bearing before biological and social maturity, and other harmful practices affecting the health of women and children;<br /><br />(3) to collaborate with national non-governmental groups active in this field, draw upon their experience and expertise and, where such groups do not exist, encourage their establishment;<br /><br />In the same resolution, the Assembly requested the Director-General of WHO to strengthen technical support to member States in implementing the above measures; and to continue global and regional collaboration with non-governemental organizations, United Nations bodies, and other agencies and organizations concerned in order to establish national, regional and global strategies for the abolition of harmful traditional practices.<br /><br />B. Governments<br /><br />The preliminary report (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1989/42 and Add.1) and final report (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1991/6) of the Special Rapporteur on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children contain summaries of information on the topic received, in response to requests by the Secretary-General, from 28 Governments. However, many of these Governments stated that harmful traditional practices were unknown in their countries. Others recognized the existence of some such practices, namely female genital mutilation (FGM), son preference and inferior social status of women, and practices related to marriage, pregnancy and nutrition.<br /><br />A number of countries throughout the world have either taken or supported action to prevent traditional practices affecting the health of women and children, in particular FGM.<br /><br />Bangladesh clearly upholds the principle of equality of men and women and prohibits discrimination against women. To protect the legal rights of women and to stop violence and repression against them, the Government has adopted the following legislation:<br /><br />(a) Dowry Prohibition Act, 1980, which provides for punishment for giving, taking or abetting the giving or taking of dowry;<br /><br />(b) Cruelty to Women (Deterrent Punishment) Ordinance, 1983, which provides for punishment for abduction of women for unlawful purposes, trafficking in women, or causing or attempting to cause death or grievous harm to a wife for dowry;<br /><br />(c) Child Marriage Restraint Act Amendment Ordinance, 1984, which raises the marriageable age for women from 16 to 18 years, and for men from 18 to 21 years. It also provides for punishment for marrying or giving in marriage of a child;<br /><br />(d) Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 (as amended in 1982), which provides for increased punishment in cases of polygamy and divorce in violation of the statutory provisions.<br /><br />In the Sudan, a law was passed in 1946, under the British Colonial Administration, to prohibit the practice of infibulation.<br /><br />In Sweden, the Act on Prohibition of Female Circumcision was passed in 1982. It not only seeks to bring to justice those breaking Swedish laws, but also any person living in Sweden who assists in carrying out FGM in another country which also has prohibitive laws.<br /><br />In the United Kingdom, the Prohibition of Female CircumcisionAct was adopted in 1985. Measures against FGM have also been included in the child protection procedures at local authority levels.<br /><br />In the United States of America, the Federal Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act was under consideration by the House of Representatives in early 1995.<br /><br />A number of countries which have not yet passed specific laws use existing national legislation to prohibit the practice of female genital mutilation.<br /><br />In France, no specific law exists, but article 312-3 of the Penal Code is applied to prosecute persons exercising violence against or seriously assaulting a child under 15, "if the result has been mutilation, amputation or . . . loss of an eye or other permanent disabilities, or death not intentionally caused by the perpetrator". The Criminal Division of the Cour de cessation decided, by a judgement of 20 August 1983, that ablation of the clitoris resulting from wilful violence constituted a mutilation under article 312-3 of the Penal Code. While the term "female genital mutilation" is not used in the Penal Code, this decision makes it quite clear that such practices fall within the purview of the enactment.<br /><br />In Norway, all hospitals were alerted in 1985 to the practice of female genital mutilation.<br /><br />All the above Governments have also acknowledged the importance of education and awareness raising among both the practising communities and service providers. Practical steps are being taken in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Djibouti, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Somalia, the Sudan, Sweden and the United Kingdom to ensure that relevant information is disseminated. Lack of information from Africa and Asia makes it difficult to ascertain what recent action has been taken at national and grass-roots levels.<br /><br />Some African countries are in the process of formulating national legislation against FGM, including Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Egypt, Ghana and Nigeria. In Burkina Faso, Kenya and Senegal, statements have been made by heads of State expressing the need to eliminate FGM.<br /><br />As regards Asia, the following countries reported on ongoing and planned action to eradicate harmful traditional practices at the second United Nations regional seminar on the subject, held in Sri Lanka in July 1994: China, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/10, paras. 75 ff.).<br /><br />C. Non-governmental organizations<br /><br />Available information indicates that increasingly more grass-roots activities in the area of harmful traditional practices are taking place in Africa and Asia, as well as in Western countries. In Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America, the work of dedicated women is raising awareness and providing training and advice to service providers such as midwives, health visitors, nurses, doctors, teachers and social workers.<br /><br />Of the 29 countries in Africa identified as having communities practising female genital mutilation, 24 have branches of the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, in addition to many women's NGOs. Many established national women's organizations have carried out research and surveys, and others have ventured into communities where FGM and other harmful traditional practices prevail, setting up training programmes for excisors, traditional birth attendants and community members.<br /><br />Work at this level is vital, for it is through the activities of NGOs that positive changes are being realized. Although early results of work in these communities are encouraging, to change a community's attitude totally will take at least a generation. The NGOs in question thus urgently need continuing financial support to ensure that their programmes are fully implemented.<br /><br />Prominent non-governmental organizations<br /><br />(a) Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children<br /><br />The Inter-African Committee (IAC) was formed in pursuance of a recommendation made at the 1979 Khartoum seminar organized by WHO. The Committee was officially established in 1984, following a regional seminar on harmful traditional practices held that year at Dakar, Senegal. The Committee has been granted consultative status with ECOSOC.<br /><br />The aims of IAC are to reduce the morbidity and mortality rates for women and children through the eradication of harmful traditional practices; to promote traditional practices which are beneficial to the health of women and children; to play an advocacy role by promoting the importance of action against harmful traditional practices at the international, regional and national levels; and to raise funds for and support local activities of national committees and other partners.<br /><br />The main areas of focus of IAC are training in information campaigns, and training of local activists and traditional birth attendants.<br /><br />Intensive health education workshops, enhanced by the use of visual aids, are provided for local activists throughout communities, the objective being to raise awareness of issues related to harmful traditional practices. After five months of training, these activists are ready to go back to their communities and train other community members. In this way, the information on harmful traditional practices reaches a wide audience.<br /><br />Traditional birth attendants are also trained to become active in the campaign against harmful traditional practices. Educational materials are disseminated to community groups such as students, youth groups, teachers, and religious and community leaders.<br /><br />IAC also organizes international and regional seminars and workshops and is in close collaboration with the Organization of African Unity, the Economic Commission for Africa and other United Nations agencies, as well as with other intergovernmental organizations, NGOS, funding bodies and individuals. The objective is to appraise and share experience and ideas in methods of good practice. The last seminar took place in April 1994 at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.<br /><br />(b) FORWARD International<br /><br />FORWARD International (Foundation for Women's Health Research and Development) has been operational since 1983. It emerged from the Minority Rights Group (United Kingdom), an international human rights organization, as a special project unit. FORWARD's aim is to promote good health among African women and children internationally. Its main focus is information provision, advocacy, training of service providers, counselling and networking with other groups internationally.<br /><br />FORWARD is a United Kingdom-based charity. It cooperates with community groups to develop educational materials on the health aspects of FGM, and it works very closely with local authorities in the area of child protection, by providing training to social workers and teachers. FORWARD also provides training for health professionals and gives advice on policy guidelines. The organization is co-founder of a specialized Well Woman Clinic based in the United Kingdom, which provides services and advice to excised and infibulated women.<br /><br />FORWARD was instrumental at the national level in the formulation of the United Kingdom's 1985 Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act,as well as legislation on child protection. At the international level, FORWARD has provided advice and guidelines to legislators in relation to the drafting of national laws on FGM in the United States of America and Australia. The organization has worked closely with and addressed meetings organized by WHO, Amnesty International UK and other international agencies. In Africa, FORWARD has extensive links with women's groups working in the areas of health and FGM.<br /><br />(c) Babiker Badri Scientific Association for Women's Studies<br /><br />This organization was established in the Sudan in 1979 by a group of volunteer women in order to enhance research and education on women's issues. It is linked to the Ahfad College for Women, which is also controlled by the Babiker Badri Association. The organization is one of the pioneers in the fight against female genital mutilation, organizing seminars, workshops and studies on the subject. It runs an income-generating project for mothers in which education on FGM is gradually introduced. The Ahfad College for Women, which has more than 3,000 female students, has integrated education on FGM into its curriculum.<br /><br />(d) Sudan National Committee on Traditional Practices<br /><br />The main objective of this national women's organization is to educate and raise awareness of harmful traditional practices at all levels of society. The Committee has recognition and support from United Nations agencies, such as UNICEF, and other international bodies concerned with the health of children.<br /><br />The Committee's main target groups are individuals who play influential roles in communities where FGM prevails, e.g. policy makers, service providers, and religious and community leaders. The Committee disseminates information via seminars, workshops, discussion groups and training sessions.<br /><br />(e) Women for the Abolition of Sexual Mutilation (CAMS)<br /><br />CAMS (Commission Internationale pour I'Abolition des Mutilations Sexuelles) was established in France in 1980; its head office is in Dakar, Senegal.<br /><br />One prominent member of CAMS (France) has devoted her time to campaigning throughout practising communities in France. As a lawyer, she seeks to protect the girl child by implementing existing French law, which has involved prosecuting parents and excisors who have performed FGM in France. Like other NGOs working in this field, CAMS has a focus on research and awareness raising. It has also hosted a number of successful international seminars.<br /><br />(f) Rädda Barnen<br /><br />Rädda Barnen is the Swedish Save the Children organization. It has worked tirelessly with numerous women's groups in Africa and throughout Europe, providing vital financial support and advice.<br /><br />D. United Nations seminars and conferences<br /><br />(a) Regional seminars<br />Two regional seminars on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children have been organized in Africa and Asia by the United Nations under its programme of advisory services in the field of human rights. The first was held at Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from 29 April to 3 May 1991; the second was held at Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 4 to 8 July 1994.<br /><br />The objectives of the seminars were to assess the human rights implications of harmful traditional practices, and to gather information from participants on measures taken at the governmental and non-governmental levels to end those practices. Participants included representatives of national Governments, United Nations agencies, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. Both seminars provided the opportunity for participants to exchange information and experience. Participants were also urged to implement the recommendations of the seminars.<br /><br />The recommendations adopted by the Ouagadougou seminar (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1991/48, paras. 136-138) included the following:<br /><br />(i) Governments should:<br /><br />Ratify and implement international instruments, including those relating to the protection of women and children;<br /><br />Adopt legislation prohibiting practices harmful to the health of women and children, particularly FGM, and create a governmental body to implement the official policy adopted;<br /><br />Carry out a survey and review of school curricula and textbooks with a view to eliminating prejudices against women;<br /><br />Establish a national committee to combat harmful traditional practices, particularly FGM;<br /><br />Cooperate with religious institutions and their leaders and other traditional authorities in order to eliminate harmful traditional practices such as FGM.<br /><br />(ii) At the international level, the recommendations addressed specific United Nations bodies and agencies, including:<br /><br />The Commission on the Status of Women, which was encouraged to study the issues pertaining to harmful traditional practices, particularly FGM;<br /><br />UNICEF, which was called upon to continue its contribution to the campaign against FGM;<br /><br />UNESCO, which was requested to provide assistance to the States concerned in preparing teaching materials, and to include the question of traditional practices in functional literacy programmes.<br /><br />In addition, a special recommendation was addressed to all United Nations specialized agencies to include in their government aid programmes activities relating to the campaign against FGM.<br /><br />(iii) NGOs were encouraged to intensify their activities for the elimination of harmful traditional practices. In particular, international NGOs concerned with protecting the health of women and children were requested to extend their financial and material support to national NGOS; private donors were also encouraged to support such activities. Finally, NGOs and Governments were urged to cooperate with each other in developing programmes for the retraining of FGM practitioners.<br /><br />The recommendations of the Colombo seminar (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/10, paras. 89-90) were incorporated in the Plan of Action for the Elimination of Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, adopted by the seminar, the text of which is reproduced in the annex to this Fact Sheet.<br /><br />The success of the two regional seminars has stimulated great interest among researchers and women activists the world over, thus increasing the volume of work being done and the information available on harmful traditional practices. This is an important step in understanding the prevalence and cultural justifications of the practices in question.<br /><br />(b) International Conference on Population and Development<br /><br />The International Conference on Population and Development, convened by the United Nations, was held in Cairo from 5 to 13 September 1994. Its main objective was to emphasize the direct links between reproductive health and human rights, thus placing the concerns of women and the girl child at the centre of the conference themes.<br /><br />Concern over population explosion again prompted participants to examine the crucial causes of large families. Poverty, lack of family planning, poor health, limited access to education and lack of women's rights were identified as the main factors in that regard.<br /><br />It was also pointed out that early marriage and pregnancy, leading to high fertility and poor sexual and reproductive health, prevented the girl child from pursuing fully her education and employment opportunities. The Conference reaffirmed that investment in the girl child's health, nutrition and education from infancy was crucial to development. The Conference further emphasized that there was a need to eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl child-for example, son preference-which resulted in harmful and unethical practices such as prenatal sex selection and female infanticide.<br /><br />The Conference urged Governments to increase public awareness of the value of girl children through public education, promoting equal treatment for girls and boys at all levels. It was emphasized that child marriages should be eliminated and arranged marriages discouraged. Respect for girls and women had to be instilled in boys from an early age. On the issue of FGM, Governments were urged to put a stop to the practice and to ensure that rehabilitation and counselling facilities were available for those concerned.<br /><br />(c) Fourth World Conference on Women<br /><br />The Fourth World Conference on Women will be held at Beijing from 4 to 15 September 1995. Convened by the United Nations, the Conference will adopt a Platform for Action concentrating on "critical areas of concern" that have been identified as obstacles to the advancement of women in the world-and set an agenda for the advancement of women at national, regional and international levels into the next century. The themes that have been identified include poverty, education, health, violence against women, the effects of armed or other kinds of conflict on women, and human rights of women.<br /><br />The issue of traditional practices affecting the health of women and children has been raised at various regional meetings held in preparation for the Conference. The draft Platform for Action for the Conference makes specific mention of harmful traditional practices (E/CN.6/1995/2, annex, para. 88) and calls for increased public awareness about violence as a violation of women's human rights.<br />________________________________________<br /><br /><br />Conclusions<br /><br /><br /><br />Most women in developing countries are unaware of their basic human rights. It is this state of ignorance which ensures their acceptance-and, consequently, the perpetuation of harmful traditional practices affecting their well-being and that of their children. Even when women acquire a degree of economic and political awareness, they often feel powerless to bring about the change necessary to eliminate gender inequality. Empowering women is vital to any process of change and to the elimination of these harmful traditional practices.<br /><br />Since the World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993, it is hoped that all States will recognize and accept the universality and indivisibility of the human rights of women. It is also expected that there will be more ratifications of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. However, much remains to be done in the field of equality, taking into account the absence, in many countries, of real constitutional guarantees of fundamental human rights for all. The persistence of negative customary norms that conflict with and undermine implementation of both national legislation and international human rights standards must be addressed.<br /><br />Although such national legislation and international standards are vital in tackling the issue of harmful traditional practices, there is an urgent need for a parallel programme that addresses the cultural environment from which these practices emerged, in order to eliminate the various justifications used to perpetuate them. It is the duty of States to modify the social and cultural attitudes of both men and women, with a view to eradicating customary practices based on the idea of the inferiority or superiority of either sex or on stereotyped roles of gender.<br /><br />Comprehensive and intensive programmes of formal and informal education, awareness raising and training are the approach followed by some Governments, non-governmental organizations and women's groups. In part II.C above, reference was made to the various ways in which women's organizations are trying to empower women and service providers in an effort to change attitudes regarding harmful traditional practices. This approach needs to be supported by implementation of national and international human rights norms relating to the elimination of discrimination against women. The environment of discrimination, which denies women and the girl child equal access to health care, education, employment and wealth, must also be addressed and reformed.<br /><br />In the international debate, the father's responsibility towards the girl child has never been challenged. However, the duties and responsibilities of men within the family have begun to receive special attention as instruments of change. The Programme of Action adopted by the International Conference on Population and Development in September 1994 states:<br /><br />Changes in both men's and women's knowledge, attitudes and behaviour are necessary conditions for achieving the harmonious partnership of men and women. . . . It is essential to improve communication between men and women on issues of sexuality and reproductive health, and the understanding of their joint responsibilities, so that men and women are equal partners in public and private life.<br /><br />. . .<br /><br />. . . Male responsibilities in family life must be included in the education of children from the earliest ages. Special emphasis should be placed on the prevention of violence against women and children.(4)<br /><br />One of the most noticeable achievements at the international level has been the lifting of the taboo against addressing the issue of female genital mutilation, which is now acknowledged as a violation of the human rights of women and the girl child. This has created new sociocultural forces in the countries concerned, particularly among women participating in the crusade against FGM. None the less, unprecedented efforts are needed at the national and international levels to eradicate all forms of harmful traditional practices.<br /><br />Governments, the United Nations and its specialized agencies, and NGOs should now play a more important role in monitoring and implementing the Plan of Action for the Elimination of Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (see annex). Technical and financial support should be given to national and regional organizations which advocate gender equality and promote human rights for all.<br />________________________________________<br /><br /><br />ANNEX<br /><br />Plan of Action for the Elimination of Harmful Traditional Practices<br />Affecting the Health of Women and Children a/<br /><br />_______<br /> a/ Prepared by the second United Nations Regional Seminar on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, held at Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 4 to 8 July 1994 (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/10/Add.1 and Corr. 1); adopted by the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in its resolution 1994/30 of 26 August 1994 (para. 3).<br /><br /><br />A. National action<br /><br />(1) A clear expression of political will and an undertaking to put an end to traditional practices affecting the health of women and girl children, particularly female genital mutilation, are required on the part of the Governments of countries concerned.<br /><br />(2) International instruments, including those relating to the protection of women and children, should be ratified and effectively implemented.<br /><br />(3) Legislation prohibiting practices harmful to the health of women and children, particularly female genital mutilation, should be drafted.<br /><br />(4) Governmental bodies should be created to implement the official policy adopted.<br /><br />(5) Governmental agencies established to ensure the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women adopted at Nairobi in 1985 by the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace should be involved in activities undertaken to combat harmful traditional practices affecting the health of women and children.<br /><br />(6) National committees should be established to combat traditional practices affecting the health of young girls and women, particularly female genital mutilation, and governmental financial assistance provided to those committees.<br /><br />(7) A survey and review of school curricula and textbooks should be undertaken with a view to eliminating prejudices against women.<br /><br />(8) Courses on the ill effects of female genital mutilation and other traditional practices should be included in training programmes for medical and paramedical personnel.<br /><br />(9) Instruction on the harmful effects of such practices should be included in health and sex education programmes.<br /><br />(10) Topics relating to traditional practices affecting the health of women and children should be introduced into functional literacy campaigns.<br /><br />(11) Audiovisual programmes (sketches, plays, etc.) should be prepared and articles published in the press on traditional practices adversely affecting the health of young girls and children, particularly female genital mutilation.<br /><br />(12) Cooperation with religious institutions and their leaders and with traditional authorities is required in order to eliminate traditional practices such as female genital mutilation which are harmful to the health of women and children.<br /><br />(13) All persons able to contribute directly or indirectly to the elimination of such practices should be mobilized.<br /><br />Son preference<br /><br />(14) The family being the basic institution from where gender biases emanate, wide-ranging motivational campaigns should be launched to educate parents to value the worth of a girl child, so as to eliminate such biases.<br /><br />(15) In view of the scientific fact that male chromosomes determine the sex of children, it is necessary to emphasize that the mother is not responsible for selection. Governments must, therefore, actively attempt to change the misconceptions regarding the responsibilities of the mother in determining the sex of the child.<br /><br />(16) Non-discriminatory legislation on succession and inheritance should be introduced.<br /><br />(17) In the light of the dominant role religion plays in shaping the image of women in each society, efforts should be made to remove misconceptions in religious teachings which reinforce the unequal status of women.<br /><br />(18) Governments should mobilize all educational institutions and the media to change negative attitudes and values towards the female gender and project a positive image of women in general, and the girl child in particular.<br /><br />(19) Immediate measures should be taken by Governments to introduce and implement compulsory primary education and free secondary education and to increase the access of girls to technical education. Affirmative action in this field should be adopted in favour of the promotion of girls' education to achieve gender equity. Parents should be motivated to ensure the education of their daughters.<br /><br />(20) Considering the importance of promoting self-esteem as a prerequisite for the higher status of women in the family and the community, Governments should take effective measures to ensure that women have access to and have control over economic resources, including land, credit, employment and other institutional facilities.<br /><br />(21) Measures must be taken to provide free health care and services to women and children (in particular, girls) and to promote health consciousness among women, with emphasis on their own basic health needs.<br /><br />(22) Governments should regularly conduct nutritional surveys, identify nutritional gender disparities and undertake special nutritional programmes in areas where malnutrition in various forms is manifested.<br /><br />(23) Governments should also undertake nutritional education programmes to address, inter alia, the special nutritional needs of women at various stages of their life cycle.<br /><br />(24) As son preference is often associated with future security, Governments should take measures to introduce a social security system, especially for widows, women-headed families and the aged.<br /><br />(25) Governments are urged to take measures to eliminate gender stereotyping in the educational system, including removing gender bias from the curricula and other teaching materials.<br /><br />(26) Governments should encourage by all means the activities of non-governmental organizations concerned with this problem.<br /><br />(27) Public opinion makers, national institutions, religious leaders, political parties, trade unions, legislators, educators, medical practitioners and all other organizations should be actively involved in combating all forms of discrimination against women and girls.<br /><br />(28) Gender disaggregated data on morbidity, mortality, education, health, employment and political participation should be collected regularly, analysed and utilized for the formulation of policy and programmes for girls and women.<br /><br />Early marriage<br /><br />(29) Governments are urged to adopt legislative measures fixing a minimum age for marriage for boys and girls. As recommended by the World Health Organization, the minimum age for girls should be 18 years. Such legislative measures should be reinforced with necessary mechanisms for their implementation.<br /><br />(30) Registration of births and deaths, marriages and divorces should be made compulsory.<br /><br />(31) Health issues relating to sex and family-life education should be included in school curricula to promote responsible and harmonious parenthood and to create awareness among young people about the harmful effects of early marriage, as well as the need for education about sexually transmitted diseases, especially AIDS.<br /><br />(32) The media should be mobilized to raise public awareness on the consequences of child marriage and other such practices and the need to combat them. Governments and women's activist groups could monitor the role of the mass media in this regard. All Governments should adopt and work towards "safe motherhood" initiatives.<br /><br />(33) Effective training programmes should be ensured for traditional birth attendants and paramedical personnel to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge, including concerning the effects of harmful traditional practices, to provide care and services during the antenatal, child delivery and postnatal periods, especially for rural mothers.<br /><br />(34) Governments should promote male contraception, as well as female contraception.<br /><br />(35) To discourage the early marriage of girls, Governments should make provision to increase vocational training, retraining and apprenticeship programmes for young women to empower them economically. A certain percentage of the places in existing training institutions should be reserved for women and girls.<br /><br />(36) Governments should recognize and promote the reproductive rights of women, including their right to decide on the number and spacing of their children.<br /><br />(37) Considering that non-governmental organizations have an effective role in urging Governments to enhance women's health status and in keeping international organizations informed about the trends relating to traditional practices affecting the health of women and children, they should continue to report on the progress made and obstacles encountered in this area.<br /><br />Child delivery practices<br /><br />(38) Contraception should be encouraged as a means of promoting the health of women and children rather than as a means of achieving demographic goals.<br /><br />(39) Governments should eliminate, through educational and legislative measures and the creation of monitoring mechanisms, all forms of harmful traditional childbirth practices.<br /><br />(40) Governments should expand and improve health services and introduce training programmes for traditional birth attendants to upgrade their positive traditional skills, as well as to give them new skills on a priority basis.<br /><br />(41) Research and documentation are essential to assess the harmful effects of certain traditional birth-related practices and to identify and continue some positive traditions like breast-feeding.<br /><br />Violence against women and girl children<br /><br />(42) Violence against women and girl children is a global phenomenon which cuts across geographical, cultural and political boundaries and varies only in its manifestations and severity. Gender violence has existed from time immemorial and continues up to the present day. It takes covert and overt forms, including physical and mental abuse. Violence against women, including female genital mutilation, wife burning, dowry-related violence, rape, incest, wife battering, female foeticide and female infanticide, trafficking and prostitution, is a human rights violation and not only a moral issue. It has serious negative implications for the economic and social development of women and society and is an expression of the societal gender subordination of women.<br /><br />(43) Governments should openly condemn all forms of violence against women and children, in particular girls, and commit themselves to confronting and eliminating such violence.<br /><br />(44) To stop all forms of violence against women, all available media should be mobilized to cultivate a social attitude and climate against such totally unacceptable human behaviour.<br /><br />(45) Governments should set up monitoring mechanisms to control depiction of any form of violence against women in the media.<br /><br />(46) Violence being a form of social aberration, Governments should advocate the cultivation of a social attitude so that victims of violence do not suffer any continuing disability, feelings of guilt, or low self-esteem.<br /><br />(47) Governments should enact and regularly review legislation for effectively combating all forms of violence, including rape, against women and children. In this connection, more severe penalties for acts of rape and trafficking should be introduced and specialized courts should be established to process such cases speedily and to create a climate of deterrence.<br /><br />(48) Female infanticide and female foeticide should be openly condemned by all Governments as a flagrant violation of the basic right to life of the girl child.<br /><br />(49) The hearing of cases of rape should be in camera and the details not publicized, and legal assistance should be provided to the victims.<br /><br />(50) Traditional practices of dowry and bride-price should be condemned by Governments and made illegal. Acts of bride burning should likewise be condemned and a heavy penalty inflicted on the guilty.<br /><br />(51) Families, medical personnel and the public should be encouraged to report and have registered all forms of violence.<br /><br />(52) More and more women should be inducted in law enforcement machinery as police officers, judiciary, medical personnel and counsellors.<br /><br />(53) Gender-sensitization training should be organized for all law enforcement personnel and such training should be incorporated in all induction and refresher courses in police training institutions.<br /><br />(54) Mechanisms for networking and exchanges of information on violence should be established and strengthened.<br /><br />(55) Governments should provide shelters, counselling and rehabilitation centres for victims of all forms of violence. They should also provide free legal assistance to victims.<br /><br />(56) Governments must develop and implement a legal literacy campaign to improve the legal awareness of women, including dissemination of information through all available means, particularly NGO programmes, adult literacy courses and school curricula.<br /><br />(57) Governments must promote research on violence against women and create and update databases on this subject.<br /><br />(58) Community-based vigilance should be promoted regarding gender violence, including domestic violence.<br /><br />(59) At the national level, Governments should promote and set up independent, autonomous and vigilant institutions to monitor and inquire into violations of women's rights, such as national commissions for women consisting of individuals and experts from outside the Government.<br /><br />(60) Governments which have not done so are urged to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to ensure full gender equality in all spheres of life. The States parties to these Conventions must comply with their provisions in order to achieve their ultimate objectives, including the eradication of all harmful traditional practices.<br /><br />(61) NGOs should be active in bringing all available information on systematic and massive violence against women and children, in particular girls, to the attention of all relevant bodies of the United Nations, such as the Centre for Human Rights, the Commission on the Status of Women and specialized agencies, for the necessary intervention. Such information should also be shared with the Governments concerned, women's commissions and human rights organizations.<br /><br />(62) Women's organizations should mobilize all efforts, including action research, to eradicate prejudicial and internalized values which project a diminished image of women. They should take action towards raising awareness among women about their potential and self-esteem, the lack of which is one of the factors perpetuating discrimination.<br /><br />B. International action<br /><br />The Commission on Human Rights and the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities<br /><br />(63) The question of traditional practices affecting the health of women and girl children should be retained on the agenda of the Commission on Human Rights and the Sub-Commission, so as to keep it under constant review.<br /><br />The Commission on the Status of Women<br /><br />(64) The Commission should give more attention to the question of harmful traditional practices.<br /><br />(65) All the organs of the United Nations working for the protection and the promotion of human rights, and in particular the mechanisms established by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Covenants on Human Rights and the Convention against Torture, should include in their agenda the question of all harmful traditional practices which jeopardize the health of women and girls and discriminate against them.<br /><br />(66) Intergovernmental organizations and specialized agencies and bodies of the United Nations system, such as the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the World Health Organization, should integrate in their activities the issue of confronting harmful traditional practices and elaborate programmes to cope with this problem.<br /><br />United Nations specialized agencies<br /><br />(67) Close coordination should be established between the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children and the relevant United Nations bodies, specialized agencies and regional organizations for the effective implementation of the Plan of Action. All specialized agencies should include in their aid programmes activities relating to the campaign against female genital mutilation and other traditional practices affecting the health of women and girl children.<br /><br />Non-governmental organizations<br /><br />(68) National and international non-governmental organizations concerned with protecting the health of women and children should include in their programmes activities relating to traditional practices affecting the health of women and girl children.<br /><br />(69) International non-governmental organizations concerned with protecting the health of women and children should extend their financial and material support to national non-governmental organizations to ensure the success of their activities.<br /><br />(70) Non-governmental organizations already positively engaged in activities for the elimination of traditional practices affecting the health of women and children should intensify those activities.<br /><br />(71) Cooperation should also take place between non-governmental organizations and Governments in developing programmes for the retraining of female genital mutilation practitioners to enable them to achieve financial self-sufficiency through gainful activities.<br /><br />(72) Non-governmental organizations should continue and reinforce their activities in favour of protecting the human rights of women and girl children, including the promotion of beneficial traditional practices.<br /><br />Other measures<br /><br />(73) Health workers should be required to dissociate themselves completely from harmful traditional practices.<br /><br />(74) All women aware of the problem should be called on to react against traditional practices affecting the health of women and children and to mobilize other women.<br /><br />(75) Women engaged in combating traditional practices affecting the health of women and children should exchange their experience.<br /><br /><br />Select Bibliography<br /><br /><br /><br />Abdalla, Raqiya Haji Dualeh. Sisters in affliction; circumcision and infibulation of women in Africa. London, Zed Press, 1982. 122 p. Bibliography.<br /><br />Dorkenoo, Efua. Cutting the rose; female genital mutilation: the practice and its prevention. London, Minority Rights Publications, 1994. 196 p. Bibliography.<br /><br />Hosken, Fran P. The Hosken report; genital and sexual mutilation of females. 4th rev. ed. Lexington (Mass.), Women's International Network News, 1994. 444 p. Bibliography.<br /><br />Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children. Report on the regional seminar on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children in Africa, 6-10 April 1987, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 182 p.<br /><br />United Nations. Economic and Social Council. Preliminary report submitted by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 1994/45. 22 November 1994. 92 p. (E/CN.4/1995/42)<br /><br />. Economic and Social Council. Report of the second United Nations regional seminar on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 4-8 July 1994. (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/10 and Corr.1 and Add.1 and Add.l/Corr. 1)<br /><br />___. Economic and Social Council. Report of the United Nations seminar on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 29 April-3 May 1991. 12 June 1991. 46 p. (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1991/48)<br /><br />___. Economic and Social Council. Report of the Working Group on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children. 4 February 1986. 50 p. (E/CN.4/1986/42)<br /><br /><br />Economic and Social Council. Study on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children; final report by the Special Rapporteur, Mrs. Halima Embarek Warzazi. 5 July 1991. 39 p. (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1991/6)<br /><br />___. Economic and Social Council. Study on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children; preliminary report by the Special Rapporteur, Mrs. Halima Embarek Warzazi. 21-22 August 1989. 21 p. (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1989/42 and Add. 1)<br /><br />Notes:<br />1. For the texts of the international human rights instruments cited in this Fact Sheet, see Human Rights: A Compilation of International Instruments, vol. 1 (2 parts), Universal Instruments (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.94.XIV. 1). [back to the text]<br />2. See, generally, Fran P. Hosken, The Hosken Report: Genital and Sexual Mutilation of Females,4th rev. ed. (Lexington (Mass.), Women's International Network News, 1994). [back to the text]<br />3. London, Minority Rights Publications, 1994. [back to the text]<br />4. A/CONF. 171/13, chap. 1, resolution 1, annex, paras. 4.24 and 4.27. [back to the text]<br /></div><hr style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" width="25" border="0" height="25" /></a><a href="http://pondongpinoy.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" lowsrc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" width="25" border="0" height="25" /></a><a href="http://sanpablomedia.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" width="25" border="0" height="25" /></a></div>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-36498645509278045852010-03-25T11:54:00.001+08:002010-03-25T11:56:18.256+08:00Pre-Cana Presentation<div style="width:425px" id="__ss_3546322"><strong style="display:block;margin:12px 0 4px"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/frjessie/pre-cana-presentation" title="Pre Cana Presentation">Pre Cana Presentation</a></strong><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=pre-canapresentation1-100324222024-phpapp01&stripped_title=pre-cana-presentation"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=pre-canapresentation1-100324222024-phpapp01&stripped_title=pre-cana-presentation" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><div style="padding:5px 0 12px">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/frjessie">Jessie Somosierra</a>.</div></div><br /><hr /><br /><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" width="25" border="0" height="25" /></a><a href="http://pondongpinoy.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" lowsrc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" width="25" border="0" height="25" /></a><a href="http://sanpablomedia.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" width="25" border="0" height="25" /></a>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-87052841401574605232010-03-06T21:04:00.000+08:002010-03-06T21:06:18.030+08:005 Steps to Building Your Christian Marriage<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; ">Falling in love may seem effortless, but <a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/practicaltools/p/christianmarria.htm">building your Christian marriage</a> and keeping it strong does require work. However, the blessings and rewards of that effort are priceless and immeasurable.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">According to <a href="http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrow&BarnaUpdateID=295">these 2008 marriage statistics</a> one in three of us (Christians and non-Christians alike) will be divorced at least once. Yet <a href="http://www.citizenlink.org/FOSI/marriage/divorce/A000000901.cfm">further analysis of the statistics</a> seems to suggest that active evangelical Christians, those who attend church regularly, as well as active Catholics and Protestants tend to divorce at a rate 35% lower than secular couples. So what are the keys to maintaining a strong and healthy Christian marriage? I've suggested <a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/practicaltools/p/christianmarria.htm">5 ways to strengthen your Christian marriage</a>:</span><b><span style="font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-font-kerning:18.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">How to Keep Your Christian Marriage Strong and Healthy<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Step 1 - Pray Together<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Set aside time each day to pray with your spouse.</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">My husband and I have found that first thing in the morning is the best time for us. We ask God to fill us with His <a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/topicalbiblestudies/a/whoisholyspirit.htm">Holy Spirit</a> and give us strength for the day ahead. It brings us closer together as we care for each other every day. We think about what the day ahead holds for our partner. Our loving affection goes beyond the physical realm to the emotional and spiritual realm. This develops true intimacy with each other and with God.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Perhaps a better time for you as a couple might be just before you go to bed each night. It's impossible to fall asleep angry when you've just held hands together in God's presence. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Tips:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> </span></div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><div style="text-align: justify;">Pray these <a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/prayersforspecificneeds/qt/couplesprayers.htm"><b>Christian prayers for couples</b></a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Learn these <a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/prayersverses/a/basicstoprayer.htm"><b>basics to prayer</b></a>.</div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Step 2 - Read Together<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Set aside time each day, or at least once a week, to read the Bible together. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">This might also be described as a time of <a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/practicaltools/ht/createdevotion.htm">devotions</a>. About five years ago my husband and I began setting aside time each weekday morning to read the Bible and pray together -- a couple's devotional time. We read to each other, either from the Bible or from a devotional book, and then we spend a few minutes in prayer together. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">We've had to commit to rising from sleep about 30 minutes earlier in order to do this, but it's been a wonderful, intimate time of strengthening our marriage. It took 2 1/2 years, but what a sense of accomplishment we felt when we realized we had <a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/biblereadingplans/">read through the entire Bible</a> together! <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Tip:</span></b></div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><div style="text-align: justify;">Find out how <a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/practicaltools/a/PartISpendTime.htm"><b>spending time with God</b></a> can enrich your life.</div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Step 3 - Make Decisions Together<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Commit to making important decision together.</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">I'm not talking about deciding on what to eat for dinner. Major decisions, like financial ones, are best decided as a couple. One of the greatest areas of strain in a marriage is the sphere of finances. As a couple you should discuss your finances on a regular basis, even if one of you is better at handling the practical aspects, like paying the bills and balancing the check book. Keeping secrets about spending will drive a wedge between a couple faster than anything. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">If you agree to come to mutual decisions on how the finances are handled, this will strengthen trust between you and your partner. Also, you won't be able to keep secrets from each other if you commit to making all important family decisions together. This is one of the best ways to develop trust as a couple. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Tip:</span></b></div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><div style="text-align: justify;">Check out these <a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/christianbooksmovies/tp/marriagebooks.htm"><b>top Christian books about marriage</b></a>.</div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Step 4 - Attend Church Together<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Get involved in a church together.</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Find a place of worship where you and your spouse will not only attend together, but enjoy areas of mutual interest, such as serving in a ministry and making Christian friends together. The Bible says in <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Heb%2010:24-25;&version=50;" target="_blank">Hebrews 10:24-25</a>, that one of the best ways we can stir up love and encourage good deeds is by remaining faithful to the Body of Christ by meeting together regularly as believers.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Tips:</span></b></div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><div style="text-align: justify;">Discover practical advice on <a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/churchandcommunity/ht/chooseachurch.htm"><b>finding a church</b></a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Learn <b><a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/whatdoesthebiblesay/i/churchattendanc.htm">what the Bible says about church attendance</a></b>.</div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Step 5 - Continue Dating<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Set aside special, regular times to continue developing your romance.</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Once married, couples often neglect the area of romance, especially after the kids come along. Continuing a dating life may take some strategic planning on your part as a couple, but it is vital to maintaining a secure and intimate marriage. Keeping the romance alive will also be a bold testimony to the strength of your Christian marriage. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Tips:</span></b></div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><div style="text-align: justify;">Consider these <a href="http://marriage.about.com/od/loveandromance/a/iloveyou.htm"><b>great ways to say "I love you."</b></a> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Learn <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/mp/2006/summer/13.6.html" target="_blank"><b>4 simple ways to rekindle intimacy</b></a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Read this <b><a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/valentinesday/qt/valentinepoem.htm">tribute to my parent's love</a></b>.</div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Conclusion:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">These 5 steps require real, committed effort on your part. Falling in love may have seemed effortless, but keeping your Christian marriage strong will take ongoing work. The good news is—building a healthy marriage is not all that complicated or difficult if you're determined to follow a few basic principles. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Tip:</span></b></div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><div style="text-align: justify;">Find out <a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/i/biblemarriage.htm"><b>what the Bible says about marriage</b></a>.</div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">What Does the Bible Says About Marriage?</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Obviously, we can't cover all 500-plus verses, so we'll just look at a few key passages. I hope you will read the selected verses with an open mind, consider the analysis, ask your own questions of the heart, and then come to your own conclusions.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Background<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Gen. 2:18, 21-24</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"">The Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him'...and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-left: 0.5in; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man.' For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/p/newinternationa.htm">(NIV)</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Here we see the first wedding. We can conclude from this account in Genesis that marriage is God's idea, designed and instituted by the Creator. In these verses we also discover that at the heart of God's design for marriage is companionship and intimacy. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">What Does the Bible Say?</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> </span></div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><div style="text-align: justify;">• Marriage was designed for <b><i>companionship</i></b> and <b><i>intimacy</i></b>.</div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">An Illustration<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Eph. 5:23-32 </span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"">For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything. </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-left: 0.5in; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God's word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is actually loving himself when he loves his wife. No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just as Christ cares for his body, which is the church. And we are his body. </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-left: 0.5in; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one." This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> <a href="http://%20christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/p/newlivingtransl.htm">(NLT) </a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The picture of marriage expands into something much broader, with the husband and wife relationship illustrating the relationship between Christ and the church. Husbands are urged to lay down their lives in sacrificial love and protection. And in this safe and cherished embrace of a loving husband, what wife would not be willing to submit to his leadership? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">What Does the Bible Say?</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> </span></div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><div style="text-align: justify;">• Husbands - love and sacrifice. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">• Wives - submit.</div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Different Yet Equal<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">1 Peter 3:1-5, 7</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"">In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands, even those who refuse to accept the Good News. Your godly lives will speak to them better than any words. They will be won over by watching your pure, godly behavior. </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-left: 0.5in; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Don't be concerned about the outward beauty ... You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God ... In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat her with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. If you don't treat her as you should, your prayers will not be heard.</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> <a href="http://%20christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/p/newlivingtransl.htm">(NLT) </a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Some readers will quit right here. After all, "husbands taking the authoritative lead in marriage" and "wives submitting" are not popular messages in today's world! <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">But this illustration of marriage typifying the relationship between Christ and the church adds further encouragement for wives to submit to their husbands, even those who don't follow Christ. Although this is a difficult challenge, the verse promises that her godly character and inward beauty will win over her husband more effectively than words. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">If we're not careful, we will miss that these verses highlight the equal partnership of husbands and wives in God's gift of new life. Though the husband exercises the role of authority and leadership, and the wife fulfills a role of submission, both are equal heirs in God's kingdom. The roles are different, but equally important. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">What Does the Bible Say?</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> </span></div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><div style="text-align: justify;">• Wives - demonstrate godly character and quiet inner beauty. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">• Husbands - honor their wives and be kind and gentle. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">• Husands and wives are equal partners.</div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Outcome<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">1 Corinthians 7:1-2</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"">... It is good for a man not to marry. But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> <a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/p/newinternationa.htm">(NIV)</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">This verse suggests that it is better not to marry. Those in difficult marriages would quickly agree! Throughout history it has been believed that a deeper commitment to spirituality can be achieved through a devoted life of celibacy. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Clearly this verse refers to immorality in sexual relations. In other words, it is better to marry than to be sexually immoral. But if we elaborate the meaning to incorporate all forms of immorality, we could easily include self-centeredness, greed, wanting to control, hatred, and all of the issues that surface when we enter into an intimate relationship. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Could one of the deeper purposes of marriage be to make us confront our own character flaws, the behaviors and attitudes we would never have seen nor faced otherwise? If we allow the challenges of marriage to force us to confront ourselves, we will be applying a spiritual discipline of tremendous value. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">What Does the Bible Say?</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> </span></div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><div style="text-align: justify;">• Strive to overcome immoral living.</div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">I believe God designed marriage as an instrument to make us more like Christ. In his book, <i>Sacred Marriage</i>, Gary Thomas asks this question, <b><i>"What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?"</i></b> Is it possible that there is something much more profound in the heart of God than simply to make us happy? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Can we lay down our own ambitions to love and serve our spouse? Through marriage we can learn about unconditional love, respectful honor, how to forgive and be forgiven. We can see our shortcomings and grow from that insight. We can develop a servant's heart, and draw closer to God. As a result, true soul happiness can be discovered, and this, I believe is one of God's ultimate desires and purposes for designing the covenant of marriage. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p><hr /><br /><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://pondongpinoy.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" lowsrc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://sanpablomedia.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-63948468261285117752010-03-06T20:53:00.004+08:002010-03-06T21:04:26.316+08:00"Reproductive Health is Abortion"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jHgFmZ7iV86xFjao5LZqJZlfqh2sFTM2B3gws1hIxqapNXOV-l8S5gcBue8PaMp4lt7IHsmMh_ultjfNRPBAWe20GoDL7BdJq1V95M4AzWzss0LtAoWkO00WjYseblKamwrWT1xVUm-t/s1600-h/clip_image001.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 75px; height: 75px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jHgFmZ7iV86xFjao5LZqJZlfqh2sFTM2B3gws1hIxqapNXOV-l8S5gcBue8PaMp4lt7IHsmMh_ultjfNRPBAWe20GoDL7BdJq1V95M4AzWzss0LtAoWkO00WjYseblKamwrWT1xVUm-t/s320/clip_image001.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445503876482528786" /></a><br /><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="text-align: justify;width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; "> <tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-irow:0;mso-yfti-firstrow:yes;mso-yfti-lastrow:yes"> <td style="padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 14.65pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-no-proof:yesfont-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" spt="75" preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:formulas> <v:path extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" connecttype="rect"> <o:lock ext="edit" aspectratio="t"> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="ctl00_cph1_Article1_FormView1_Image1" spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="No photo" style="'width:56.25pt;height:56.25pt;"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\DOCUME~1\user\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.jpg" title="No photo"> </v:shape><![endif]--><img width="75" height="75" src="file:///C:/DOCUME~1/user/LOCALS~1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_image001.jpg" alt="No photo" shapes="ctl00_cph1_Article1_FormView1_Image1" /></span><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";font-family:";font-size:13.5pt;color:red;">Reproductive health is abortion</span></b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><br /><a href="http://www.philstar.com/ArticleListByAuthorName.aspx?AuthorName=Jose+C.+Sison" target="_blank" title="Displays articles written by this author"><span style="color:#1E66AE;">A LAW EACH DAY (Keeps Trouble Away) By Jose C. Sison</span></a> <span style="color:gray;">Updated May 18, 2009 12:00 AM</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div> <o:p></o:p></span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">Our legislators should be convinced by now to push aside and junk the pending RH Bill. Otherwise they will appear to have been deceived or pressured on a grand scale by foreign countries and international organizations; or blinded by the piercing glitter of gold.</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">The deception and meddling into the internal affairs of our nation for the passage of this bill have not ceased. Lately, the head of the delegation of the European Commission (EC) to the Philippines, a certain Alistair MacDonald even had the gall to link the increased foreign aid of the European nations to the bill’s passage and to chide our legislators for failing to pass it, calling the “provision of effective and accessible reproductive health services a responsibility of the State towards the people of the Philippines”.</span><span style="font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">If only to show these people and the rest of the world that they have to respect our sovereignty as a nation, this RH bill should be thrown to the wastebasket right away. For indeed the bill is nothing but stinking garbage.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">The foreign funded NGOs and the UNFPA which actually crafted the bill and its sponsors in both houses of Congress should stop insisting that <b>reproductive health services and programs “provide access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family planning and prevent abortion”. This is a big lie.</b></span><span style="font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">UN Committees and NGOs as well as <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have openly admitted and included abortion within the term reproductive health. Recently <st1:city st="on">Clinton</st1:city> told <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> Congress that the Obama administration regards the term “reproductive health to include women’s rights to safe abortion”. MacDonald of the EC tried to fudge the issue with his statement that the “lack of an effective framework for reproductive health is the cause of illegal abortion”—thereby indirectly admitting that the adoption of a framework for reproductive health will result in the legalization of abortion.</span></b><span style=" font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">But whether abortion is “legal” which also means “safe”, or “illegal” which is the other term for “unsafe”, it is still undeniably taking the life or killing a helpless, innocent and unborn child. This is a crime in our jurisdiction and contrary to the very provision of ourConstitution mandating the State to “protect the life of the unborn from conception”</span></b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">. MacDonald and company who are pushing for the passage of the RH bill are therefore not only intruding into our sovereignty but even telling our legislators to violate our own constitution when they advocate that the State should provide for “effective and accessible reproductive health services”.</span><span style="font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">The hidden agenda of US and other European countries are now exposed. They are pushing for this RH bill to make investments on the contraceptive industry more profitable which is possible only if abortion is legalized as it is in their jurisdictions.</span><span style="font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">In the US the grimmer news is that Obama, after consulting his astrologer and seeing that the “stars are aligned” like the Nazi leaders Himmler, Hess and Hitler, recently announced that he would like to push his administration’s Nazi style overhaul of the US health care services.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">The news reminded me of this e-mail sent by a certain Ms. Lacy Dodd, a member of Notre Dame Class of 1999 in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>. This is her story and it depicts Obama’s <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> today.</span><span style="font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">“For many members of the Notre Dame class of 2009, the uproar surrounding the University’s decision to honor Barack Obama with this year’s commencement address and to bestow on him a doctorate of laws has provoked strong feelings about what the ensuing conflict will mean for their graduation.</span><span style="font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">I know how they feel. Ten years ago, my heart was filled with similar conflicts as we came closer to the day of my own Notre Dame commencement.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">You see, I was three months pregnant.</span><span style="font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">That March I had gone alone to a local woman’s clinic to take a test. The results were positive, and I was so numb I almost didn’t grasp what the nurse was getting at when she assured me I had “other options”. What did “other options” mean? <b>And what kind of world is it that defines compassion as telling a young woman who has just learned she is carrying life inside her that she has the option to destroy it?</b></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">When I returned to the campus, I ran to the Grotto. I was confused and full of conflicting emotions. But I knew this. No amount of shame or embarrassment would ever lead me to get rid of my baby. <b>Of all women,</b> <b>Our Lady could surely feel pity for an unplanned pregnancy. I recalled her surrendered love to God’s invitation to become the home of the Incarnate Word. ‘Let it be done to me according to thy word”, she said. In my hour of need, on my knees, I asked Mary for courage and strength. And she did not disappoint.</b></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">My boyfriend was a different story</span></b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">. He was also a Notre Dame senior. When I told him he was to be a father, he tried to pressure me into having an abortion. Like so many women in similar circumstances, I found out the kind of man the father of my child was at precisely the moment I needed him most. <b>“All that talk about abortion is just dining room talk” he said. “When it’s really you in the situation, it’s different. I will drive you to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chicago</st1:place></st1:city> and pay for a good doctor”.</b></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">I tried telling him this was not an option. He said he was pro-choice. I responded by informing him that my choice was life. And I learned, as so many pregnant women have before and since, that <b>life is the one choice that pro-choicers won’t support….</b></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">Notre Dame is a special place, but it is not immune to the realities of modern life. There are students who face unplanned pregnancies, and most tragically—women who think their only option is abortion… On campuses all across this country, abortion is the status quo.</span><span style="font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">There have been many things written about the honors to be extended to President Obama. I’d like to ask this of Fr. John Jenkins, the Notre Damepresident: <b>Who draws support from your decision to honor President Obama—the young, pregnant Notre Dame woman sitting in that graduating class who wants desperately to keep her baby, or the Notre Dame man who believes that the Catholic teaching on the intrinsic evil of abortion is just dining room talk?”</b></span><span style=" font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt; "><span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;">Our legislators should therefore finally realize that reproductive health is the guise used by Obama for promoting abortion here and in other countries.</span><span style="font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><hr /><br /><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://pondongpinoy.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" lowsrc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://sanpablomedia.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-17252767223650311182008-11-10T05:43:00.002+08:002008-11-10T05:45:53.556+08:00The Filipino Family Under Siege<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre; "><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="481" height="402" id="player"><param name="movie" value="http://www.authorstream.com/player.swf?p=101532_633609599587187500"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.authorstream.com/player.swf?p=101532_633609599587187500" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="481" height="402"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-size:'2';">Uploaded on authorSTREAM by <a href="http://www.authorstream.com/User-Presentations/frjessie/" target="_blank" title="More presentations by frjessie on authorSTREAM">frjessie</a></span></span><br /><br /><hr /><br /><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://pondongpinoy.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" lowsrc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://sanpablomedia.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-34001724327972345562008-11-09T05:59:00.000+08:002008-11-10T06:02:05.403+08:00CHARTER OF THE RIGHTS OF THE FAMILY<p align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family:Times;">Presented by the Holy See to all persons, institutions and authorities concerned with the mission of the family in today's world </span></i><st1:date year="1983" day="22" month="10"><i><span style="font-family:Times;">October 22, 1983</span></i></st1:date><br /></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family:Times;">Preamble</span></b><span style="font-family:Times;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">Considering that: </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">A. The rights of the person, even though they are expressed as rights of the individual, have a fundamental social dimension which finds an innate and vital expression in the family; </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">B. the family is based on marriage, that intimate union of life in complementarity between a man and a woman which is constituted in the freely contracted and publicly expressed indissoluble bond of matrimony and is open to the transmission of life; </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">C. marriage is the natural institution to which the mission of transmitting life is exclusively entrusted; </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">D. the family, a natural society, exists prior to the State or any other community, and possesses inherent rights which are inalienable; </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">E. the family constitutes, much more than a mere juridical, social and economic unit, a community of love and solidarity, which is uniquely suited to teach and transmit cultural, ethical, social, spiritual and religious values, essential for the development and well-being of its own members and of society. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">F. the family is the place where different generations come together and help one another to grow in human wisdom and to harmonize the rights of individuals with other demands of social life; </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">G. the family and society, which are mutually linked by vital and organic bonds, have a complementary function in the defense and advancement of the good of every person and of humanity; </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">H. the experience of different cultures throughout history has shown the need for society to recognize and defend the institution of the family; </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">I. society, and in a particular manner the State and International Organizations, must protect the family through measures of a political, economic, social and juridical character, which aim at consolidating the unity and stability of the family so that it can exercise its specific function; </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">J. the rights, the fundamental needs, the well-being and the values of the family, even though they are progressively safeguarded in some cases, are often ignored and not rarely undermined by laws, institutions and socio-economic programs; </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">K. many families are forced to live in situations of poverty which prevent them from carrying out their role with dignity; </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">L. the Catholic Church, aware that the good of the person, of society and of the Church herself passes by way of the family, has always held it part of her mission to proclaim to all the plan of God instilled in human nature concerning marriage and the family, to promote these two institutions and to defend them against all those who attack them; </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">M. the Synod of Bishops celebrated in 1980 explicitly recommended that a Charter of the Rights of the Family be drawn up and circulated to all concerned;</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">the Holy See, having consulted the Bishops' Conferences, now presents this "Charter of the Rights of the Family" and urges all States, International Organizations, and all interested Institutions and persons to promote respect for these rights, and to secure their effective recognition and observance. </span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family:Times;">Article 1</span></b><span style="font-family:Times;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">All persons have the right to the free choice of their state of life and thus to marry and establish a family or to remain single. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">a) Every man and every woman, having reached marriageable age and having the necessary capacity, has the right to marry and establish a family without any discrimination whatsoever; legal restrictions to the exercise of this right, whether they be of a permanent or temporary nature, can be introduced only when they are required by grave and objective demands of the institution of marriage itself and its social and public significance; they must respect in all cases the dignity and the fundamental rights of the person. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">b) Those who wish to marry and establish a family have the right to expect from society the moral, educational, social and economic conditions which will enable them to exercise their right to marry in all maturity and responsibility. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">c) The institutional value of marriage should be upheld by the public authorities; the situation of non-married couples must not be placed on the same level as marriage duly contracted. Article </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">2 Marriage cannot be contracted except by free and full consent duly expressed by the spouses. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">a) With due respect for the traditional role of the families in certain cultures in guiding the decision of their children, all pressure which would impede the choice of a specific person as spouse is to be avoided. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">b) The future spouses have the right to their religious liberty. Therefore to impose as a prior condition for marriage a denial of faith or a profession of faith which is contrary to conscience, constitutes a violation of this right. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">c) The spouses, in the natural complementarity which exists between man and woman, enjoy the same dignity and equal rights regarding the marriage. </span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family:Times;">Article 3</span></b><span style="font-family:Times;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">The spouses have the inalienable right to found a family and to decide on the spacing of births and the number of children to be born, taking into full consideration their duties towards themselves, their children already born, the family and society, in a just hierarchy of values and in accordance with the objective moral order which excludes recourse to contraception, sterilization and abortion. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">a) The activities of public authorities and private organizations which attempt in any way to limit the freedom of couples in deciding about their children constitute a grave offense against human dignity and justice. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">b) In international relations, economic aid for the advancement of peoples must not be conditioned on acceptance of programs of contraception, sterilization or abortion. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">c) The family has a right to assistance by society in the bearing and rearing of children. Those married couples who have a large family have a right to adequate aid and should not be subjected to discrimination. </span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family:Times;">Article 4</span></b><span style="font-family:Times;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">a) Abortion is a direct violation of the fundamental right to life of the human being. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">b) Respect of the dignity of the human being excludes all experimental manipulation or exploitation of the human embryo. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">c) All interventions on the genetic heritage of the human person that are not aimed at correcting anomalies constitute a violation of the right to bodily integrity and contradict the good of the family. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">d) Children, both before and after birth, have the right to special protection and assistance, as do their mothers during pregnancy and for a reasonable period of time after childbirth. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">e) All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, enjoy the same right to social protection, with a view to their integral personal development. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">f) Orphans or children who are deprived of the assistance of their parents or guardians must receive particular protection on the part of society. The State, with regard to foster-care or adoption, must provide legislation which assists suitable families to welcome into their homes children who are in need of permanent or temporary care. This legislation must, at the same time, respect the natural rights of the parents. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">g) Children who are handicapped have the right to find in the home and the school an environment suitable to their human development. </span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family:Times;">Article 5</span></b><span style="font-family:Times;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">Since they have conferred life on their children, parents have the original, primary and inalienable right to educate them; hence they must be acknowledged as the first and foremost educators of their children. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">a) Parents have the right to educate their children in conformity with their moral and religious convictions, taking into account the cultural traditions of the family which favor the good and the dignity of the child; they should also receive from society the necessary aid and assistance to perform their educational role properly. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">b) Parents have the right to freely choose schools or other means necessary to educate their children in keeping with their convictions. Public authorities must ensure that public subsidies are so allocated that parents are truly free to exercise this right without incurring unjust burdens. Parents should not have to sustain, directly or indirectly, extra charges which would deny or unjustly limit the exercise of this freedom. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">c) Parents have the right to ensure that their children are not compelled to attend classes which are not in agreement with their own moral and religious convictions. In particular, sex education is a basic right of the parents and must always be carried out under their close supervision, whether at home or in educational centers chosen and controlled by them. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">d) The rights of parents are violated when a compulsory system of education is imposed by the State from which all religious formation is excluded. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">e) The primary right of parents to educate their children must be upheld in all forms of collaboration between parents, teachers and school authorities, and particularly in forms of participation designed to give citizens a voice in the functioning of schools and in the formulation and implementation of educational policies. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">f) The family has the right to expect that the means of social communication will be positive instruments for the building up of society, and will reinforce the fundamental values of the family. At the same time the family has the right to be adequately protected, especially with regard to its youngest members, from the negative effects and misuse of the mass media. </span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family:Times;">Article 6</span></b><span style="font-family:Times;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">The family has the right to exist and to progress as a family. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">a) Public authorities must respect and foster the dignity, lawful independence, privacy, integrity and stability of every family. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">b) Divorce attacks the very institution of marriage and of the family. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">c) The extended family system, where it exists, should be held in esteem and helped to carry out better its traditional role of solidarity and mutual assistance, while at the same time respecting the rights of the nuclear family and the personal dignity of each member. </span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family:Times;">Article 7</span></b><span style="font-family:Times;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">Every family has the right to live freely its own domestic religious life under the guidance of the parents, as well as the right to profess publicly and to propagate the faith, to take part in public worship and in freely chosen programs of religious instruction, without suffering discrimination. </span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family:Times;">Article 8</span></b><span style="font-family:Times;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">The family has the right to exercise its social and political function in the construction of society. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">a) Families have the right to form associations with other families and institutions, in order to fulfill the family's role suitably and effectively, as well as to protect the rights, foster the good and represent the interests of the family. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">b) On the economic, social, juridical and cultural levels, the rightful role of families and family associations must be recognized in the planning and development of programs which touch on family life. </span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family:Times;">Article 9</span></b><span style="font-family:Times;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">Families have the right to be able to rely on an adequate family policy on the part of public authorities in the juridical, economic, social and fiscal domains, without any discrimination whatsoever. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">a) Families have the right to economic conditions which assure them a standard of living appropriate to their dignity and full development. They should not be impeded from acquiring and maintaining private possessions which would favor stable family life; the laws concerning inheritance or transmission of property must respect the needs and rights of family members. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">b) Families have the right to measures in the social domain which take into account their needs, especially in the event of the premature death of one or both parents, of the abandonment of one of the spouses, of accident, or sickness or invalidity, in the case of unemployment, or whenever the family has to bear extra burdens on behalf of its members for reasons of old age, physical or mental handicaps or the education of children. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">c) The elderly have the right to find within their own family or, when this is not possible, in suitable institutions, an environment which will enable them to live their later years of life in serenity while pursuing those activities which are compatible with their age and which enable them to participate in social life. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">d) The rights and necessities of the family, and especially the value of family unity, must be taken into consideration in penal legislation and policy, in such a way that a detainee remains in contact with his or her family and that the family is adequately sustained during the period of detention. </span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family:Times;">Article 10</span></b><span style="font-family:Times;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">Families have a right to a social and economic order in which the organization of work permits the members to live together, and does not hinder the unity, well-being, health and the stability of the family, while offering also the possibility of wholesome recreation. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">a) Remuneration for work must be sufficient for establishing and maintaining a family with dignity, either through a suitable salary, called a "family wage," or through other social measures such as family allowances or the remuneration of the work in the home of one of the parents; it should be such that mothers will not be obliged to work outside the home to the detriment of family life and especially of the education of the children. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">b) The work of the mother in the home must be recognized and respected because of its value for the family and for society. </span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family:Times;">Article 11</span></b><span style="font-family:Times;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">The family has the right to decent housing, fitting for family life and commensurate to the number of the members, in a physical environment that provides the basic services for the life of the family and the community. </span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family:Times;">Article 12</span></b><span style="font-family:Times;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">The families of migrants have the right to the same protection as that accorded other families. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">a) The families of immigrants have the right to respect for their own culture and to receive support and assistance towards their integration into the community to which they contribute. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">b) Emigrant workers have the right to see their family united as soon as possible. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times;">c) Refugees have the right to the assistance of public authorities and International Organizations in facilitating the reunion of their families. </span></p><hr style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "></span></a><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://pondongpinoy.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" lowsrc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://sanpablomedia.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><br /></div>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-59612762895168483542008-10-27T07:50:00.000+08:002008-10-29T07:52:31.597+08:00Under the Influence of Contraception<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; ">Family-Life Speaker Links It to Abortion and Divorce</span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><st1:place><st1:city><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">ST. AUGUSTINE</span></b></st1:city><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">, </span></b><st1:state><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"">Florida</span></b></st1:state></st1:place><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"">, </span></b><st1:date year="2008" day="25" month="7"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"">JULY 25, 2008</span></b></st1:date><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> (<a href="http://www.zenit.org/" target="_blank"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt">Zenit.org</span></a>).</span></b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Here is an excerpt of a talk titled <span style="background:yellow">"Why Contraception Matters: How It Keeps Us from Love and Life,"</span> given by Steve Patton, director of the </span></b><st1:place><st1:placename><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"">Diocesan</span></b></st1:placename><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> </span></b><st1:placetype><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Center</span></b></st1:placetype></st1:place><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> for Family Life in </span></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"">St. Augustine</span></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"">. The talk is being distributed by <a href="http://www.omsoul.com/Why-Contraception-Matters.php" target="_blank"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt">One More Soul</span></a>.</span></b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; ">* * *</span><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><div style="text-align: justify;">It used to be, before the contraceptive revolution, that there was a pretty clear and firm connection between sex and marriage. Married people had sex, unmarried people didn’t, or if they did, they more or less knew that they weren’t supposed to. Most everybody knew this.<br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div> <span style="background:yellow"><div style="text-align: justify;">But over the course of the 20th century, as contraception became more socially accepted, more available, and more effective, all that began to change. By the time the sixties rolled around it was becoming clear, to married and unmarried people alike, that you didn’t have to be married to have sex. Contraceptive practice had made sex into a recreational activity that everyone has a right to.<br /></div></span> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div> <span style="background:yellow"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="background:yellow">What did this mean for the unmarried? Well, you probably heard the old saying, “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?” Widespread acceptance and availability of contraception has led to widespread fornication. Pre-marital sex is now not only socially acceptable, but socially respectable. It’s no different among Catholics. About 90% of engaged couples in the </span></span></b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";background:yellow">U.S.</span></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";background:yellow"> who come to the Catholic Church for marriage are already sexually active -- 90%.</span></b><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> <span style="background:yellow">Yes, people do still get married, but in fewer numbers. Why? Well, one of the reasons a man and woman used to get married was to start having sex, and contraception basically removed that as a reason. </span></span></b></span><br /></div></span></span></b><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""><div style="text-align: justify;">What did the contraceptive revolution do to married people? There are three ways that it led to an increase in divorce rates.<br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First, it’s the flip side of what I just mentioned: <span style="background: yellow">If sex is no longer a reason to get married, then it’s also no longer a reason to stay married. Anyone can have it.</span> It’s pretty much a commodity. But once sex is removed from the portrait of all those things that make marriage unique and valuable, then a married couple at risk will have one less reason to try to make it work. <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Second, <span style="background:yellow">widespread contraceptive practice in many cases removed another reason that has traditionally held together married couples, namely, children. </span>There is something to be said for a couple trying to make their marriage work for the sake of the children. But what happens when there are no children? <span style="background:yellow">More contraception has led to fewer children, and in many cases to no children at all. Divorces naturally followed.</span><br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Third, <span style="background:yellow">widespread use of contraception by married couples also led to an increase of adultery. Once you take away one of the greatest fears of extra-marital sex -- which is pregnancy -- you’re going to see an increase of that activity. And when there is an increase in adultery there’s also going to be an increase in divorce.</span><br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In net effect, <span style="background:yellow">our culture of sterilized sex has made marriage on the whole a less attractive institution to enter into, and an easier institution to get out of.</span> It’s contributed to the demise of millions of marriages, both those that actually took place and those that should have taken place, but never did. <br /></div></span></b><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; ">Death to life</span><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size:13.5pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><div style="text-align: justify;">How does widespread contraception lead to declining birth rates? Well if the life-giving potential of sex is pervasively removed from the picture, a cultural mindset is gradually fostered in which children themselves are pervasively removed from the picture. <span style="background:yellow">They tend to be viewed not as gifts but as liabilities, spoilers of a pleasurable lifestyle. </span>We might have one or two, if that would be pleasurable to us, but after that the norm is to reject them.<br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">How does widespread contraception lead to widespread abortion? I credit Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse with summing up the motto of our culture of sexual liberation this way, and keep in mind that<span style="background:yellow"> our culture of sexual liberation was made possible only by our culture of contraception</span>: She says ours is a culture in which, “all adults are entitled to unlimited sexual activity without a live baby resulting.” I’ll say that again, “all adults are entitled to unlimited sexual activity without a live baby resulting.”<br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What Dr. Morse touches upon is our culture’s prevailing disconnection between sex and babies. <span style="background:yellow">Before contraception was king, the prevailing assumption was that a baby was a natural consequence of sex. If you chose to engage in sex, you knew it could result in a baby. </span>You might not have wanted that to happen, but you assumed that it could happen. If a baby did result, it was because of your freely chosen action, and so you were likely, not necessarily, but likely, to feel a certain kind of responsibility toward that child.<br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div> <span style="background:yellow"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background:yellow">The contraceptive revolution changed all that. It led to the prevailing assumption that babies really shouldn’t have anything to do with sex. </span>That is, not unless you wanted a baby to have something to do with sex, not unless you allowed that. Or as Dr. Morse said, not unless you’re into that kind of thing.<br /></div></span> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now couples who think this way do know that keeping a baby out of the picture doesn’t just happen by itself; you have to do your part. You have to do something to the sexual act to make sure that a baby won’t be conceived. That’s what, quote unquote, taking responsibility for your actions now means with respects to sexual activity.<br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But if a couple has this kind of attitude, then when the contraception fails, as it often does, and there’s a pregnancy, they’re not going to tend to think the baby’s there because of their actions. They’re going to tend to think the baby’s there in spite of their actions. In other words, their mindset is not so much that this is their child that they conceived. Rather, they’re going to tend to think it’s an invader that they failed to repel. This kind of thinking is likely to foster quite a different sense of what’s the responsible thing to do next.<br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, I realize, we’re not talking about abortion, yet. Not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer, and not everyone who uses contraception goes on to have an abortion when it fails. What I’m saying, though, is that <span style="background:yellow">contraception, by its very nature, and as a broad social phenomenon, tends to incline the heart of a nation toward abortion.</span> <span style="background:yellow">As John Paul II put it in "Evangelium Vitae," Latin for the "Gospel of Life," the contraceptive mentality strengthens the temptation to abort. Contraception and abortion are not the same thing, but as John Paul put it, they are as closely connected as “fruits of the same tree.”</span><br /></div></span></b><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><hr style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "></span></a><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://pondongpinoy.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" lowsrc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://sanpablomedia.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><br /></div>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-6692635391244662992008-10-27T07:43:00.000+08:002008-10-29T07:50:02.446+08:00The Facts of Life & Marriage: Social Science & the Vindication of Christian Moral Teaching<div style="text-align: justify;">By W. Bradford Wilcox<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1968, Pope Paul VI released Humanae Vitae, an encyclical affirming the Christian tradition’s ancient and constant moral teaching that contraception is wrong. Sadly, Humanae Vitae came as a shock to many Christians inside and outside the Catholic Church, who thought that the church was ready to accommodate herself to the modern view of marriage as primarily a relational, not procreative, institution.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Indeed, in the wake of Humanae Vitae, the Catholic Church largely lost her ability to successfully convince the American laity, not to mention Christians throughout the West, of the truth and beauty of her moral teaching on matters related to sex and marriage. Three historical, sociological, and intellectual factors help account for this failure.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Three Failures<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First, Humanae Vitae came at the worst possible moment in history. The encyclical arrived in the wake of Vatican II, just after the Catholic Church had thrown open her windows to the modern world. Unfortunately, the modern world was then succumbing to the siren song of the sexual revolution, was awash in a pervasive anti-authoritarianism, and inclined to a hedonistic ethic fueled by unprecedented affluence. As the Catholic biblical scholar Luke Timothy Johnson observed at a forum sponsored by Commonweal magazine, “American Catholics truly became American at [precisely the] moment when America itself was undergoing a cultural revolution.”<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the aftermath of John F. Kennedy’s ascendancy to the presidency, and their own dramatic increases in educational and economic attainment, Catholics in the United States were coming into their own as independent-minded Americans. With their newfound status, they were less inclined to extend undue deference to the opinions of the Holy Father, and the Catholic Church more generally, especially on matters that would require them to sacrifice their cherished American aspirations to upward mobility and consumer comfort—sacrifices often associated with having a large family. For all these reasons, most American Catholics in the late 1960s and 1970s rejected Humanae Vitae.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Second, and just as ominously, this rejection led many of these same Catholics to call into question their commitment to the whole fabric of Catholic moral teaching on sex-related matters. If the Catholic Church is wrong on birth control, the thinking went, she is probably wrong on divorce and remarriage, premarital sex, and so on. As Johnson, himself a critic of Humanae Vitae observed, “The birth control issue finally initiated many American Catholics into the hermeneutics of suspicion,” a hermeneutics that made them skeptical of all the church’s pronouncements regarding sexual morality.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Indeed, the controversy surrounding Humanae Vitae was, as Andrew Greeley pointed out in The Catholic Myth, “the occasion for massive apostasy and for [a] notable decline in religious devotion and belief,” as many Catholics concluded that the Catholic Church had fallen out of touch with the modern world. This controversy also hurt the church’s ability to speak to the larger Christian community on issues of sexual ethics and family life, as she was seen to be out of touch with the realities of modern marriage.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Third, the mistaken view that the church is hopelessly out of touch, hopelessly inflexible, and hopelessly bereft of compassion on matters related to sex and marriage has been and continues to be advanced by Catholic intellectuals with substantial public platforms. The pronouncements of Charles Curran, Andrew Greeley, Richard McBrien, and other like-minded Catholic theologians and social scientists have only added to the confusion, dissent, and scandal that swirls around Christian moral teaching.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In various ways, and with varying degrees of clarity and honesty, the dissenters argue that the church must accommodate her morality to the ways of the world if she hopes to speak in an authentic way to the experience and concerns of modern men and women. They also argue—and this is important—that the most compassionate route forward for the church is one that leads to changes in her moral teaching. Law must give way to grace, rules must give way to experience, dogma must give way to the Spirit, and the pope must give way to the people.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Accommodationist Error<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the heady decade of the 1970s, when a countercultural tide swept over the Catholic Church and the nation as a whole, and the academy was in thrall to the counterculture, this accommodationist agenda seemed to have a certain plausibility. No longer.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first problem is that the accommodationist agenda is based on bad social science. When most of these intellectuals were in their prime, the best social science suggested that the ideal posture of the church to “family change,” as it was euphemistically called, was one of acceptance and support. But contemporary social science on the contentious issues of our time—such as contraception, divorce, and cohabitation—suggests just the opposite conclusion. The shifts in sexual and familial behavior to which these dissenters would like the church to accommodate herself have been revealed in study after study to be social catastrophes.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let me be perfectly clear: The leading scholars who have tackled these topics are not Christians, and most of them are not political or social conservatives. They are, rather, honest social scientists willing to follow the data wherever it may lead. And the data has, as we shall see, largely vindicated Christian moral teaching on sex and marriage. So the intellectual foundation for dissent on moral matters is collapsing.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second problem with the dissenting agenda is that its moral laxity has been most disastrous for the most vulnerable members of our society: the poor. The poor have paid and continue to pay the highest price for the cultural revolution that Curran, Greeley, McBrien, and others would like the church to baptize.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let me now offer a summary of the social scientific research on contraception and divorce that illuminates the problems with the accommodationist agenda.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Broken Connection<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI warned that the widespread use of contraception would lead to “conjugal infidelity and the general lowering of morality”; he also warned that man would lose respect for woman and “no longer [care] for her physical and psychological equilibrium”; rather, man would treat woman as a “mere instrument of selfish enjoyment, and no longer as his respected and beloved companion.” Why? By breaking the natural and divinely ordained connection between sex and procreation, women and especially men would focus on the hedonistic possibilities of sex and cease to see sex as something that was intrinsically linked to new life and to the sacrament of marriage.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the United States, Humanae Vitae was the object of unprecedented dissent. Let me summarize the argument of one dissenter on this subject, Andrew Greeley, a priest, Jesuit, and professor of sociology at the University of Chicago. First, Greeley argued that Catholic teaching on contraception does not appreciate that married Catholics rely on sex for bonding, and they should not have to worry about bringing a baby into their lives when they bond.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Second, he claimed that the hierarchy is more concerned about keeping its power, by blindly following church tradition on contraception, than with helping ordinary people. “The problem is the arrogance of power that makes many church leaders insensitive to the problems of ordinary people and heedless of their needs—and of the Holy Spirit speaking through their experiences,” he declared in The Catholic Myth. He even went so far as to suggest that “[messing] around with the intimate lives of men and women to protect your own power is demonic.”<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There we have it. The popes’ and bishops’ efforts to uphold the Christian tradition’s consensus against artificial contraception—stretching from the Didache in the first century, through such documents as Calvin’s Commentary on Genesis in the sixteenth century, to at least the Anglican bishops’ notorious decision in 1930—is legalistic, unrealistic, and demonic.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But on this topic, as on others, Greeley does not reconcile his polling data with what he knows the sociological data says about the consequences of widespread contraception in the United States. What does this data tell us? Well, scholars from Robert Michael at Greeley’s own University of Chicago to George Akerlof at the University of California at Berkeley argue that contraception played a central role in launching the sexual and divorce revolutions of the late twentieth century.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Contraceptive Losers<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Michael has argued that about half of the increase in divorce from 1965 to 1976 can be attributed to the “unexpected nature of the contraceptive revolution”—especially in the way that it made marriages less child-centered. [1] Akerlof argues that the availability first of contraception and then of abortion in the 1960s and 1970s was one of the crucial factors fueling the sexual revolution and the collapse of marriage among the working class and the poor.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I will focus on Akerlof’s scholarship. George Akerlof is a Nobel prize-winning economist, a professor at Berkeley, and a former fellow at the Brookings Institution; he is not a conservative. In two articles in leading economic journals, Akerlof details findings and advances arguments that vindicate Paul VI’s prophetic warnings about the social consequences of contraception for morality and men. [2] <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In his first article, published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics in 1996, Akerlof began by asking why the United States witnessed such a dramatic increase in illegitimacy from 1965 to 1990—from 24 percent to 64 percent among African-Americans, and from 3 percent to 18 percent among whites. He noted that public health advocates had predicted that the widespread availability of contraception and abortion would reduce illegitimacy, not increase it. So what happened?<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Using the language of economics, Akerlof pointed out that “technological innovation creates both winners and losers.” In this case the introduction of widespread effective contraception—especially the pill—put traditional women with an interest in marriage and children at “competitive disadvantage” in the relationship “market” compared to modern women who took a more hedonistic approach to sex and relationships. The contraceptive revolution also reduced the costs of sex for women and men, insofar as the threat of childbearing was taken off the table, especially as abortion became widely available in the 1970s.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The consequence? Traditional women could no longer hold the threat of pregnancy over their male partners, either to avoid sex or to elicit a promise of marriage in the event their partner made them pregnant. And modern women no longer worried about getting pregnant. Accordingly, more and more women (traditional as well as modern) gave in to their boyfriends’ entreaties for sex.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Akerlof’s words, “the norm of premarital sexual abstinence all but vanished in the wake of the technology shock.” Women felt free or obligated to have sex before marriage. For instance, Akerlof finds that the percentage of girls 16 and under reporting sexual activity surged in 1970 and 1971 as contraception and abortion became common in many states throughout the country.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Immiserating Sex<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thus, the sexual revolution left traditional or moderate women who wanted to avoid premarital sex or contraception “immiserated” because they could not compete with women who had no serious objection to premarital sex, and they could no longer elicit a promise of marriage from boyfriends in the event they got pregnant. Boyfriends, of course, could say that pregnancy was their girlfriends’ choice. So men were less likely to agree to a shotgun marriage in the event of a pregnancy than they would have been before the arrival of the pill and abortion.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thus, many traditional women ended up having sex and having children out of wedlock, while many of the permissive women ended up having sex and contracepting or aborting so as to avoid childbearing. This explains in large part why the contraceptive revolution was associated with an increase in both abortion and illegitimacy.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In his second article, published in The Economic Journal in 1998, Akerlof argues that another key outworking of the contraceptive revolution was the disappearance of marriage—shotgun and otherwise—for men. Contraception and abortion allowed men to put off marriage, even in cases where they had fathered a child. Consequently, the fraction of young men who were married in the United States dropped precipitously. Between 1968 and 1993 the percentage of men 25 to 34 who were married with children fell from 66 percent to 40 percent. Accordingly, young men did not benefit from the domesticating influence of wives and children.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Instead, they could continue to hang out with their young male friends, and were thus more vulnerable to the drinking, partying, tomcatting, and worse that is associated with unsupervised groups of young men. Absent the domesticating influence of marriage and children, young men—especially men from working-class and poor families—were more likely to respond to the lure of the street. Akerlof noted, for instance, that substance abuse and incarceration more than doubled from 1968 to 1998. Moreover, his statistical models indicate that the growth in single men in this period was indeed linked to higher rates of substance abuse, arrests for violent crimes, and drinking.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From this research, Akerlof concluded by arguing that the contraceptive revolution played a key, albeit indirect, role in the dramatic increase in social pathology and poverty this country witnessed in the 1970s; it did so by fostering sexual license, poisoning the relations between men and women, and weakening the marital vow. In Akerlof’s words:<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just at the time, about 1970, that the permanent cure to poverty seemed to be on the horizon and just at the time that women had obtained the tools to control the number and the timing of their children, single motherhood and the feminization of poverty began their long and steady rise.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, the decline in marriage caused in part by the contraceptive revolution “intensified . . . the crime shock and the substance abuse shock” that marked the 1970s and 1980s.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Falling on the Poor<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One pair of statistical trends illustrates the way in which the social pathologies of the late twentieth century fell disproportionately on the poor. About 5 percent of college-educated women now have a child outside marriage (little change since the 1960s), but about 20 percent of women with a high-school education or less now have a child outside marriage (up from 7 percent in the 1960s).<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Why were family decline and attendant social pathologies concentrated among poor and working class Americans? Think of marriage as dependent upon two pillars: socioeconomic status and normative commitment. The poor have less of an economic stake in marriage, so they are more dependent on religious and moral norms regarding marriage. Middle-class and upper-class Americans remain committed to marriage in practice because they continue to have an economic and social stake in marriage. They recognize that their lifestyle, and the lifestyle of their children, will be markedly better if they combine their economic and social resources with one spouse.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So the bottom line is this: The research of Nobel-prize-winning economist George Akerlof suggests that the tragic outworkings of the contraceptive revolution were sexual license, family dissolution, crime, and poisoned relations between the sexes—and that the poor have paid the heaviest price for this revolution. This research suggests that the Catholic Church’s firm commitment to the moral law in the face of dramatic and widespread dissent from within and without is being vindicated in precincts that are not normally seen as sympathetic to Catholic teaching.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This research also suggests that the dissenting agenda advanced by people like Andrew Greeley amounts to a false compassion. Greeley is right to claim that the Holy Spirit speaks through people’s experiences; but a sober look at our experience with contraception reveals that the Catholic Church’s magisterium, and the Christian tradition it conveys, best advances the earthly happiness of men, women, and children, not contraception.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Disordering Divorce<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We have considered one of traditional Christianity’s most controversial moral teachings. I now turn to the issue of divorce and remarriage, where once again the church offers a sign of contradiction to the modern world. The Catechism of the Catholic Church aptly summarizes the church’s teaching on divorce and remarriage:<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law. Divorce is immoral . . . because it introduces disorder into the family and into society. This disorder brings grave harm to the deserted spouse, to children traumatized by the separation of their parents and often torn between them, and because of its contagious effect, which makes it truly a plague on society.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Catechism is making two central points: (1) divorce harms children, and (2) divorce is an infectious social plague that hurts the commonweal. For these reasons, among others, the church condemns divorce and prohibits remarriage.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The church’s seemingly inflexible position on divorce also comes in for serious criticism from the dissenters. Notre Dame theology professor Richard McBrien, for instance, argues that the church’s position makes no allowance for individuals whose marriage falls apart “despite the best efforts of all concerned.” He further argues that this pope does not encourage “the way of compassion” in dealing with Catholics who have divorced and remarried, and does not acknowledge the “traditional Roman principle that laws are ideals to strive for and not standards one can realistically expect to achieve on a day-to-day basis.”<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So McBrien’s argument, which echoes the arguments of mainline Protestants in the early twentieth century, boils down to this: The church should dispense with the moral law in an effort to be more compassionate to people in difficult situations. But what we have, once again, is false compassion.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This becomes clear when we take a careful look, once again, at the data. Numerous scholars—from Leora Friedberg at the University of Virginia to Nicholas Wolfinger at the University of Utah—have shown that divorce does in fact function as a social plague. Friedberg showed that passage of no-fault divorce laws in the 1970s accelerated the pace of divorce by about 17 percent between 1968 and 1988. [3] Wolfinger showed that a parental divorce increases the children’s chance of later being divorced themselves by more than 50 percent, and is by far one of the most potent predictors of divorce.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We can see that Pope John Paul II is right when he says that divorce “has devastating consequences that spread in society like the plague.” And we can see that McBrien’s attempt to help people in difficult situations greatly increases the chance that their children will wind up in the same difficult situations, which in turn greatly increases their children’s chances, and so on.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But I would like to focus on the other aspect of the church’s teaching, namely, that divorce brings grave harm to children. I am going to focus on the research of Sara McLanahan, a professor of sociology at Princeton (and one of my advisors for my doctoral work there). Like Akerlof, McLanahan is no conservative. In the 1970s, as a divorced, single mother, she set out to show that the negative effects of divorce on children could be attributed solely to the economic dislocation it caused.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But after spending 20 years researching the subject, she came to the conclusion that the social and emotional consequences of divorce also played a key role in explaining the negative outcomes of divorce. She also found that remarriage was, on average, no help to children affected by divorce.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Children’s Benefits<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Growing Up with a Single Parent, written with her colleague Gary Sandefur of the University of Wisconsin, McLanahan argued that the intact, two-parent family does four key things for children. [4] First, children benefit from the economic resources that mothers and particularly fathers bring to the household through work and sometimes family money. Second, children see their parents model appropriate male-female relations, including virtues like fidelity and self-sacrifice in the context of a marital relationship.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Third, because both parents are invested in the child, they spell one another in caring for their children, and they monitor one another’s parenting. This reduces stress, helps to insure that parents are not too strict or too permissive, and makes the intact family much more likely than other family arrangements to forestall abuse. Finally, fathers often serve as key guides to children seeking to negotiate the outside world as adolescents and young adults. Fathers introduce them to civic institutions and the world of work, and provide them with key contacts in these worlds.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">McLanahan also argued that stepfathers do not have the history, the authority, and the trust of the children to function—on average—as well as biological fathers.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From the child’s point of view, having a new adult move into the household creates another disruption. Having adjusted to the father’s moving out, the child must now experience a second reorganization of household personnel. Stepfathers are less likely to be committed to the child’s welfare than biological fathers, and they are less likely to serve as a check on the mother’s behavior.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So what effects did she find? Children from divorced families are more likely to drop out of high school: Data from the National Survey of Families and Households showed that children in divorced families had a 17 percent risk of dropping out of school, compared to a 9 percent risk for children in married families, even after controlling for parents’ education and race. Other surveys found similar results.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Girls raised in divorced families are more likely to have a nonmarital birth while in their teens: The National Survey of Families and Households showed this risk to be 15 percent for girls with divorced parents, compared to 9 percent for those with married parents. Again this survey is typical. McLanahan also found that boys raised outside of an intact nuclear family are more than twice as likely as other boys to end up in prison, even controlling for a range of social and economic factors. [5]<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">McLanahan also explored whether children in stepfamilies did better than children in single-mother families. Bear in mind that by the time she was conducting this latest round of research, she had remarried. Here is what she found: “Remarriage neither reduces nor improves a child’s chances of graduating from high school or avoiding a teenage birth.” In other words, remarriage does not mitigate the devastating social effects of divorce.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">More Falls on the Poor<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The final point I would like to make about the divorce revolution is that it has fallen, once again, disproportionately on the shoulders of the most vulnerable members of our society. My own research with the National Survey of Families and Households indicates that married couples with a high-school diploma or less education have a 19 percent higher risk of divorce than married couples with a college degree. Other studies show that poor and working-class married couples are much more likely to divorce than are middle- and upper-class married couples.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, after spending 20 years researching the effects of family structure on children, McLanahan came to this conclusion in Growing Up with a Single Parent:<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If we were asked to design a system for making sure that children’s basic needs were met, we would probably come up with something quite similar to the two-parent ideal. Such a design, in theory, would not only ensure that children had access to the time and money of two adults, it also would provide a system of checks and balances that promoted quality parenting. The fact that both parents have a biological connection to the child would increase the likelihood that the parents would identify with the child and be willing to sacrifice for that child, and it would reduce the likelihood that either parent would abuse the child.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This, of course, sounds quite similar to the perennial wisdom of the Christian moral tradition, articulated by figures as various as John Paul II, Calvin, and St. Thomas Aquinas.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hopeful Notes<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The portrait I have painted is sobering. But I would like to conclude on two hopeful notes. We are beginning to see a new openness among intellectuals to the importance of marriage and to the perils of divorce. For a long time, intellectuals were not willing to acknowledge the importance of marriage for children. But the intellectual tide is now turning towards a refreshing willingness to grapple with our children’s toughest social problems in a probing and open-minded manner.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides Akerlof and McLanahan, scholars like Linda Waite at the University of Chicago, Robert Lerman at the Urban Institute, Isabel Sawhill at the Brookings Institution, and Norval Glenn at the University of Texas have all underlined the importance of marriage in recent years. Their willingness to speak up on behalf of the unvarnished truth—the truth written on our hearts, and the truth evident for all to see in our statistical models—suggests that the intellectual foundations of dissent are crumbling before our very eyes.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Second, there is a new openness among Evangelical Protestant scholars and leaders to the truth and wisdom of the ancient Christian teaching against contraception. Among others, Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Seminary, Reformed Theological Seminary professor Harold O. J. Brown, and Evangelical theologian J. I. Packer have raised serious concerns about the moral permissibility and social consequences of contraception. For instance, in a recent symposium on contraception in First Things, Mohler wrote:<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thirty years of sad experience demonstrate that Humanae Vitae [correctly] sounded the alarm, warning of a contraceptive mentality that would set loose immeasurable evil as modern birth control methods allowed seemingly risk-free sex outside the integrity of the marital bond. At the same time, it allowed married couples to completely sever the sex act from procreation, and God’s design for the marital bond. . . . Standing against the spirit of the age, evangelicals and Roman Catholics must affirm that children are God’s good gifts and blessings to the marital bond. Further, we must affirm that marriage falls short of God’s design when husband and wife are not open to the gift and stewardship of children.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This intellectual opening, itself a product of Evangelical Protestants’ growing appreciation of the ways in which the contraceptive mentality is connected to dramatic increases in sexual promiscuity, divorce, and abortion, represents an important opportunity for orthodox Protestants and Catholics to work together in recovering and rehabilitating Christian moral teaching about sex and the family.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Faithful Christian scholars need to seize this moment, and underline the intellectual power and coherence of Christian moral teaching to Christian colleges and universities, congregations, pastors, and the public square. Above all else, we need to drive home the point that social justice cannot be divorced from Christian moral teaching. More than anyone else, the poor have been devastated by the outworkings of the sexual revolution of the last forty years.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We must make it crystal clear that the church’s commitment to the poor requires nothing less than a vigorous proclamation of the church’s true and beautiful teaching about sex and marriage. In other words, we must make it clear that the preferential option for the poor begins in the home.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">ENDNOTES:<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">[1] Talk given at an Emory University family conference in March 2003.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">[2] George Akerlof, Janet L. Yellen, and Michael L. Katz, “An Analysis of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing in the United States,” The Quarterly Journal of Economics CXI (1996); George Akerlof, “Men Without Children,” The Economic Journal 108 (1998).<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">[3] See Linda Waite and Maggie Gallagher, The Case for Marriage (Broadway Books), p. 179; Margaret F. Brinig and F. H. Buckley, “No-Fault Laws and At-Fault People,” International Review of Law and Economics 18 (1998), pp. 325–340.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">[4] Harvard University Press, 1994.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">[5] Cynthia C. Harper and Sara S. McLanahan, “Father Absence and Youth Incarceration,” delivered at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in 1998. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">ABOUT THE AUTHOR<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">W. Bradford Wilcox is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Virginia and the author of Soft Patriarchs, New Men: How Christianity Shapes Fathers and Husbands (University of Chicago Press, 2004). <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The Facts of Life & Marriage” is based on a paper he delivered to the 2004 meeting of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars [www.catholicscholars.org]<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prof. Wilcox is also a fellow at the Institute for Family Values. Please visit their blog, Family Scholars Blog, at www.familyscholars.org <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This article was reprinted with permission from the Jan/Feb 2005 issue of Touchstone Magazine. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><hr style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "></span></a><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://pondongpinoy.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" lowsrc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://sanpablomedia.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><br /></div>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-18319500435521714322008-10-26T09:20:00.000+08:002008-10-27T09:38:53.927+08:00Humanae vitae at 40<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="481" height="402" id="player"><param name="movie" value="http://www.authorstream.com/player.swf?p=100119_633606462502031250"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.authorstream.com/player.swf?p=100119_633606462502031250" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="481" height="402"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Uploaded on authorSTREAM by <a href="http://www.authorstream.com/User-Presentations/frjessie/" target="_blank" title="More presentations by frjessie on authorSTREAM">frjessie</a></span><br /><hr /><br /><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://pondongpinoy.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" lowsrc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://sanpablomedia.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-51373575375013877892008-10-26T07:40:00.000+08:002008-10-29T07:43:05.576+08:00The façade that Lagman et al. want us to see<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">By Antonio J. Montalvan II</span><br /></div><i><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div> </i><div style="text-align: justify;">Philippine Daily Inquirer<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First Posted 01:06:00 06/23/2008<br /></div><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><st1:place><st1:city>MANILA</st1:city>, <st1:country-region>Philippines</st1:country-region></st1:place> - The Honorable Edcel Lagman, Janette Garin, Narciso Santiago III, Mark Llandro Mendoza, Eleandro Jesus Madrona and Ana Theresa Hontiveros Baraquel would have us believe that their bill respects religious convictions and is not pro-abortion. If only they knew whereof they speak. It is an established fact that the connection between contraception and abortion is not only inseparable; there is a close identity between them.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">The unnumbered house bill of these honorable representatives that goes under the lengthy title of "An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health, <span class="yshortcuts">Responsible Parenthood</span> and Population Development, and for other purposes," and referred to in brevity as the Consolidated Reproductive Health Bill, quietly passed the House Health Committee in an unprecedented two minutes without any decent discussion or appearance of meeting the requirements of the legislative process. With a seeming inclination to do away with lengthy processes simply to rush its approval, the bill is expected to proceed to plenary without dragging along public controversy.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Either out of naiveté or sleight of hand, the bill declares a stance against abortion. But is it unequivocal? In a bill that avows the promotion of the "full range" of <span class="yshortcuts">family planning methods</span>, both natural and modern, that anti-abortion stance remains much of a lame proposition. Call it even a myth. We can hardly believe that the bill's authors are ignorant of the inarguable fact that many contraceptives within that full range are abortifacients. And nowhere in the bill does it renounce abortifacients, at the very least.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Not a few contraceptives work by causing early term abortions. The intra-uterine device prevents a fertilized egg from being implanted in the uterine wall. The pill does not always stop ovulation but sometimes prevents implantation of the growing embryo. The new <span class="yshortcuts">RU 486 pill</span> works altogether by aborting a new fetus, a new baby.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">There is a grave contradiction there. Not only is it a contradiction, it is a grievous mistake. By its failure to address abortion as an odious reality in our society, how can our elected representatives claim that they labor for the progress of that society where even new life cannot have the privilege of safety, much less of life? I am convinced that they did this not out of sleight of hand. Respect for life has become an ideological choice, not a natural moral condition for humanity. Without that moral imperative to respect life, the bill cannot even stand behind a façade of "responsible parenthood." For that is what it is, a façade that only cloaks its pro-death capabilities.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">I like the manner that Janet Smith, a professor of philosophy at the <st1:place><st1:placetype>University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename>Dallas</st1:placename></st1:place>, argues: We need to realize that a society in which contraceptives are widely used is going to have a very difficult time keeping free of abortions since the lifestyles and attitudes that <span class="yshortcuts">contraception</span> fosters create an alleged "need" for abortion.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Each year, a million and a half American women seek abortion, in the land where the full range of contraceptives has been available since long ago. As the American societal experience has taught us, abortion is a necessity in the contraceptive lifestyle. Smith tells us: The "intimate relationships" facilitated by contraceptives are what make abortions "necessary." "Intimate" here is a euphemism and a misleading one at that. Here the word "intimate" means "sexual"; it does not mean "loving and close." Abortion is most often the result of sexual relationships in which there is little true intimacy and love, in which there is no room for a baby, the natural consequence of sexual intercourse. Contraception enables those who are not prepared to care for babies to engage in sexual intercourse; when they become pregnant, they resent the unborn child for intruding upon their lives, and they turn to the solution of abortion.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">The argument against the concept, often misused by many of our legislators, that contraception is the antidote to abortions and <span class="yshortcuts">unwanted pregnancies</span>, is a simple one. Contraceptions have been permeating this world for the past 30 years. Within that time, unwanted pregnancies and abortions have not gone down. The argument is clearly fallacious.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Lagman et al. define full range as "Hormonal contraceptives, <span class="yshortcuts">intrauterine devices</span>, injectables and other allied reproductive health products and supplies [that] shall be considered under the category of essential medicines and supplies which shall form part of the National Drug Formulary and the same shall be included in the regular purchase of essential medicines and supplies of all national and local hospitals and other government health units."</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Notice the term "essential medicines." There is at once a pharmacological but social meaning. It is so very classic American contraceptivism. It is part of the pro-death lingo, so careful, polite and tame in its approach so as not to hurt religious sensibilities, yet unmasked by the realities of demographic truth.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">If there is a victory that Lagman et al. would have us believe, it is that they have finally abandoned the other myth—that there is a population explosion that can only be arrested by our acceptance of contraceptives, saying that "<span class="yshortcuts">reproductive health</span> and population development goes beyond a demographic target because it is principally about health and rights," but there is still another fallacy there nonetheless.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Babies are no accident of <span class="yshortcuts">pregnancy</span>. It is only this that we have to think of when we register our opposition to the bill of Lagman et al. Babies, not contraceptives, are the fuel to our understanding of a healthy society.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><hr style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "></span></a><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://pondongpinoy.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" lowsrc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://sanpablomedia.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><br /></div>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-76362499994436221012008-10-25T08:34:00.001+08:002008-10-27T09:13:06.447+08:00Legislation by popularity contest<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:18px;">A LAW EACH DAY (Keeps Trouble Away) By Jose C. Sison</span><br /></div><st1:date year="2008" day="24" month="10"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:18px;">Friday, October 24, 2008</span><br /></div></st1:date><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;">As a law student and as a lawyer it never occurred to me nor have I ever thought that enactment of laws will be made to depend upon survey results. I always believed that <span style="color:#C00000;">laws are passed for the general welfare and the common good </span>and that legislative power is "limited and confined within the four walls of our Charter". But in case of <span style="color:#C00000;">Reproductive Health and Population Development Act (HB 5043), it appears that the SWS survey result supposedly showing the popularity of the bill is now being used to convince our legislators in the lower house of Congress to pass it. This is indeed quite alarming if not weird.</span></span><span style="font-family:inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; "><span style=" ;font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;">The power to make laws and to alter and repeal them is assigned by our sovereign people to the <span class="yshortcuts">Congress of the </span></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span class="yshortcuts"><span style="font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;">Philippines</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;"> consisting of a Senate and a <span class="yshortcuts">House of Representatives</span>. In the exercise of that power they are expected to study and decide on whether the contents of a proposed law are constitutional or not, beneficial or harmful, right or wrong, good or bad for the country and the people they represent. If the bill and its contents are inherently wrong or harmful or unconstitutional our legislators should not enact them into law. The great number of people favoring and supporting said bill and its contents will never make them right and constitutional. Bills are enacted into law because of their inherent validity and integrity rather than popularity.</span><span style="font-family:inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; "><span style=" ;font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;">One of the policies of the <span class="yshortcuts">RH bill</span> guarantees universal access to <span class="yshortcuts">modern methods of family planning</span> including the use of artificial contraceptives and devices (Section 2). Time and again it has been pointed out to its sponsors and supporters that some of these <span style="color:#C00000;">artificial contraceptives either block the implantation of, or expel the fertilized egg or ovum (biologically known as zygote) </span>as medical science has already established. In other words they cause abortion which is illegal and punishable under the <span class="yshortcuts">Revised Penal Code</span>. The bill's proponents have not squarely disproven this fact by another credible medical finding to the contrary. To be sure they even impliedly admit it in the bill which mentions "post abortion complications" .</span><span style="font-family:inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; "><span style=" ;font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;">Furthermore, <span style="color:#C00000;">Section 12, <span class="yshortcuts">Article II of the Constitution</span> mandates the State to protect the life of the unborn from the moment of conception or the beginning of pregnancy when the egg and the sperm merge at fertilization to form the zygote or the fertilized ovum. </span>The after-effects of these contraceptives and devices that the bill in its section 10 considers as essential medicines to be included in the regular purchase of all local and national hospitals clearly endanger rather than protect the life of the unborn and therefore run counter to this constitutional precept. Indeed this precept was incorporated in our Charter precisely to avert the possible adoption in this jurisdiction of the doctrine laid down by the US Supreme Court in Roe vs. Wade (410 US 113 1973) which allows abortion anytime during the first six months of pregnancy. <span style="color:#C00000;">Under the bill, pregnancy is considered some sort of a disease that has to be feared.</span></span><span style="font-family:inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;">Aside from promoting abortion-causing contraceptives however, there are other sections in the bill that apparently violate rights guaranteed by the <span class="yshortcuts">Constitution</span> or undermines basic and inviolable institutions that should be protected by the State.</span><span style="font-family:inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; "><span style=" ;font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;color:#C00000;">Section 12 of the bill requiring <span class="yshortcuts">reproductive health education</span> of children from Grade 5 to fourth year high school impliedly to enable them to have a "satisfying and safe sex life"</span><span style="font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;"> described in section 4 apparently <span style="color:#C00000;">interferes with the inherent right and duty of the parents in the rearing and education of their children and the development of their <span class="yshortcuts">moral character</span></span> <span style="color:#C00000;">in accordance with their religious beliefs and convictions.</span></span><span style="font-family:inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; "><span style=" ;font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;color:#C00000;">Section 17 compelling employers to provide <span class="yshortcuts">reproductive health care services</span>, supplies, devices and surgical procedures (including vasectomy and ligation) infringes on the religious beliefs and convictions of individuals especially Catholics whose doctrines give the highest value to human life. </span><span style="font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;">The same is true with <span class="yshortcuts">Section 21</span> (a) par. 1 that compelling <span class="yshortcuts">health care providers</span> to provide their patients with <span class="yshortcuts">health care services</span> which they believe are contrary to the teachings of their religion.</span><span style="font-family:inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;">The same <span style="color:#C00000;">Section 21 (a) par. 2 that allows a spouse to undergo ligation or vasectomy without the consent or knowledge of the husband or wife</span> as the case may be, intrudes into and undermines the inviolability of marriage as a social institution and the rights of spouses to found a family in accordance with their religious convictions and demands of <span class="yshortcuts">responsible parenthood</span> (Article XV Section 3 [1] Constitution) . It also desecrates the sanctity of family life and weakens the family as a basic autonomous social institution founded on marriage.</span><span style="font-family:inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; "><span style=" ;font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;color:#C00000;">Worse is Section 21 (a) par. 3 permitting children who are still minors and therefore under parental authority, to seek reproductive health care services without their parents' consent. </span><span style="font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;">This clearly undermines parental authority and invades the sanctity of family life. It is manifestly detrimental to the solidarity and total development of family as the foundation of the nation and therefore contrary to the postulates of Article XV Sections 1 and 2 of the Constitution.</span><span style="font-family:inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; "><span style=" ;font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;">Capping the constitutionally objectionable aspects of this bill is the injection of a coercive policy in trying to achieve its hidden goal of population control by family size limitation. <span style="color:#C00000;">It imposes a penalty of imprisonment ranging from 1 to 6 months or fine ranging from P10,000 to P50,000 or both, at the court's discretion.</span> It is clear however from the deliberations of the <span class="yshortcuts">Constitutional Commission</span> (V Record 41 pp 58-59) that coercive methods limiting family size is definitely prohibited.</span><span style="font-family:inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 12pt; "><span style=" ;font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;">Obviously this is the same method being pushed by the foreign groups and foundations that initiated this <span class="yshortcuts">population control movement</span> to achieve its racist's objective of breeding "quality children" mainly through universal access to abortion. The inclusion of this method in the bill therefore reveals to us its real source.</span><span style="font-family:inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:inherit;font-size:13.5pt;">And so in the deliberations on this bill our legislators should always bear in mind that "the Constitution is the shore of legislative authority against which the waves of legislative enactment may dash, but over which they cannot leap".</span></p>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-22486157070293436472008-10-25T08:30:00.000+08:002008-10-27T08:33:22.687+08:00THE ONLY HOPE FOR THE PHILIPPINES<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(15, 36, 62); font-family: Arial; font-size: 24px; ">by Father James Reuter, S.J.</span><br /></div><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">By her own admission, GMA (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) rightfully assessed that over the last decades; our republic has become one of the weakest, steadily left behind by its more progressive neighbors.' Forty years ago, we were only second to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size:18.0pt; font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">Japan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"> in economic stature, and way ahead of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">Singapore</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"> , </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">Hong Kong</span></st1:city><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"> , </span><st1:country-region><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">Malaysia</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"> , and </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">Thailand</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"> . Today, at our present growth rate, it will take us 30 years to get to where </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">Thailand</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"> is. </span></span><br /></div></span><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;">1. A population of 160 Million; <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. Of those, 70 to 90 million (equivalent to our current population) will live below the poverty line; <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. Our national debt is estimated to be at US$200B (compared to US$28B when Marcos fled, and US$53B today); <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">4. We will be competing, not against </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">Thailand</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"> or even </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">Vietnam</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"> , but against </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">Bangladesh</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"> ; </span></span><br /></div></span><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">5. We will be the most corrupt nation in </span><st1:place><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">Asia</span></st1:place><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"> , if not in the world (we're already ranked 11th most corrupt nation by Transparency International) ..</span></span><br /></div></span><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;">The signs are clear. Our nation is headed towards an irreversible path of economic decline and moral decadence. It is not for lack of effort. We've seen many men and women of integrity in and out of government, NGOs, church groups & people's organization devote themselves to the task of nation-building, often times against insurmountable odds. <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But not even two people's revolutions, bloodless as they may be, have made a dent in reversing this trend. At best, we have moved one step forward, but three steps backward. <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We need a force far greater than our collective efforts, as a people, can ever hope to muster. It is time to move the battle to the spiritual realm. It's time to claim GOD's promise of healing of the land for His people. It's time to gather GOD's people on its knees to pray for the economic recovery and moral reformation of our nation. <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Is prayer really the answer? Before you dismiss this as just another rambling of a religious fanatic, I'd like you to consider some lessons we can glean from history. <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div> </span><st1:country-region><div style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family: Arial;color:#0F243E">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"> 's ascendancy to world power was preceded by the Reformation, a spiritual revival fueled by intense prayers. </span><br /></div></st1:country-region><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;">The early American settlers built the foundation that would make it the most powerful nation today - a strong faith in GOD and a disciplined prayer life. Throughout its history, and especially at its major turning points, waves of revival and prayer movement swept across the land. <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">In recent times, we see </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">Korea</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"> as a nation experiencing revival and in the process producing the largest Christian church in the world today, led by Rev. Paul Yongi Cho. No wonder it has emerged as a strong nation when other economies around it are faltering.</span></span><br /></div></span><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Even from a purely secular viewpoint, it makes a lot of sense. For here there is genuine humbling & seeking of GOD through prayer, moral reformation necessarily follows. And this, in turn, will lead to general prosperity. YES, we believe prayer can make a difference. It's our only hope.<br /></div> </span><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#C00000"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today, we launch this email brigade, to inform Filipinos from all over the world to pray, as a people, for the economic recovery and moral reformation of our nation. We do not ask for much. We only ask for 5 minutes of your time in a day, to fwd this email to your close friends and relatives.<br /></div></span><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;">This is the kind of unity which can make a big difference. Of course, if you feel strongly, as I do, about the power of prayer, you can be more involved by starting your own prayer group or prayer center.<br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We have tried people power twice; in both cases, it fell short. Maybe it's time to try prayer power. GOD never fails. Is there hope? YES! We can rely on God's promise, but we have to do our part. If we humble ourselves and pray as a people, GOD will heal our land. By GOD's grace, we may yet see a better future for our children. <br /></div> <b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">'If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land.'(2 Chronicles 7:14).<br /></div></b> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you care for your children and grandchildren, PLEASE pass this on. .. .. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">Let's not just abandon the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0F243E">Philippines</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><br /></div></span><p></p>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-2671913255161949962008-10-22T11:17:00.001+08:002008-10-27T11:20:23.147+08:00THE PHILIPPINE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN OPPOSING THE CURRENT PHILIPPINE CONGRESSIONAL HOUSE BILL NO. 5043<div style="text-align: justify;">SEC. 12 of HB 5043. Mandatory Age-Appropriate Reproductive Health Education. – recognizing the importance of reproductive rights in empowering the youth and developing them into responsible adults, Reproductive Health Education in an age-appropriate manner shall be taught by adequately trained teachers starting from Grade 5 up to Fourth Year High School. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What is wrong with this Section of RH 5043?<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1) Grade 5 (10-11 years old) and 4th Year High School (approximately 15-16 years old)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the Latency Period in the Psychosexual development of a child: <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The fourth stage of psychosexual development in psychoanalytic theory, from about five years to puberty, during which a child apparently represses sexual urges and prefers to associate with members of the same sex. [American Heritage Dictionary] The stage begins around the time that children enter into school and become more concerned with peer relationships, hobbies, and other interests. The latent period is a time of exploration in which the sexual energy is still present, but it is directed into other areas such as intellectual pursuits and social interactions. This stage is important in the development of social and communication skills and self-confidence. [Freud's Stages of Psychosexual Development]<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2) From Familiaris Consortio:<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope John Paul II refers to this time as the years of innocence (Fam. Consot. Para. 36). They deserve to have their innocence protected.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">" the family is the securest forum through which to present delicate matters of sexuality. Sex education is not just another form of catechetical instruction, nor does it qualify as education in the strictest term. Education in these delicate matters must be very gradual and only the parent can ascertain where the child is at.”<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In (Para. 36) "The right and duty of parents to give education is essential, since it is connected with the transmission of human life; it is original and primary with regard to the educational role of others, on account of the uniqueness of the loving relationship between parents and children; and it is irreplaceable and inalienable, and therefore incapable of being entirely delegated to others or usurped by others.” <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Contributed by: <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">TEODORA: IN DEFENSE OF THE AUTHENTIC WOMAN, INC.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><hr style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "></span></a><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://pondongpinoy.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" lowsrc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://sanpablomedia.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><br /></div>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-20083305042259009832008-10-22T10:49:00.000+08:002008-10-27T11:14:13.084+08:00A woman for our time?<div style="text-align: justify;">CATHERINE PEPINSTER<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;">It was one of the most poignant photographss o far of the US presidential race. Sarah Palin, the Republican Party’svice-presidential nominee, cradled herbaby, Trig, in her arms. A classic Madonnaand Child pose. But it was one for which MrsPalin was particularly vilified, simply becauseTrig is a Down’s syndrome baby.<br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><span><div style="text-align: justify;">Rather than be applauded for the courageand hard work it takes to raise a child withspecial needs, Sarah Palin was, according toCarol Fowler, the chairwoman of the DemocraticParty in South Carolina, chosen becauseher “primary qualification seems to bethat she hasn’t had an abortion”, while CintraWilson, a columnist for the online Salonmagazine, said that Trig was “the anti-abortionplatform that ensures [Palin’s] own politicalambitions”.</div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;">Mrs Palin is not the first woman in the publiceye to raise eyebrows over her decisionabout her baby. Cherie Blair chose not to havean amniocentesis test when she was pregnantwith her fourth child, Leo, because of the riskto the baby, despite the relative likelihood ather age of having a child with Down’s syndrome.This was a view that went right againstthe grain. As a newly published report fromthe worldwide charity Down Syndrome Education International (DSEI), reveals, government policy and pressure from themedical establishment has led to screeningfor genetic abnormality becoming the normin Britain. The study by DSEI shows that thisscreening, requiring invasive techniques,leads to miscarriage in between one in 100and one in 50 pregnancies, and that arounda startling 95 per cent of positive screeningsare wrong.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;">But what the charity is really concernedabout is not just the “normal” babies who arelost through this screening but whether geneticscreening for physical and mentalabilities and disabilities during pregnancy isacceptable. For behind that screening policylies a conviction that abnormality, any deviationfrom the “perfect”, has no place in oursociety. For years the political and medicalestablishment has promoted the idea thatscreening is a sensible, rational option. It isa given that if abnormality is found, then thechild’s life should be terminated. And just howthat view came to be so popular owes its rootsto a woman whose life and work is this monthbeing given what one might call, literally, astamp of approval. Marie Stopes is beinghonoured with a stamp issued by the RoyalMail.<br /></div></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;">Stopes is, of course, best known for being a birth-control pioneer. The correspondencebetween Stopes and thousands of letterwriters who contacted her afterpublication of her bestselling volumes, MarriedLove and Wise Parenthood, reveal thedesperation many felt at having large familiesthey struggled to raise, the despairwrought by sexual ignorance, and the compassionfelt by her for their plight. But MarieStopes was not all that she seemed. (Indeedeven her title was misleading. That she wasDr Stopes suggested she had a medical background;in fact she had a PhD in fossilbotany.) Like many of the early pioneers ofabortion and birth control she was a eugenicist.Eugenics, while long associated with NaziGermany, has a lengthy history in Britain. Theword derives from the Greek, meaning wellborn,and its followers advocate the improvementof the human race throughintervention. Its beginnings can be linked toThomas Malthus’ “Essay on the Principle ofPopulation”, published in 1798, which expressedthe fear that the poor, unless checked,would outstrip food supplies. During the nineteenthcentury, as the size of richer familiesdeclined, followers of Malthus feared that thepoor would start to predominate in society.The solution was segregation of the poor inworkhouses, where husbands and wives were kept apart so that they had no more children.By the beginning of the twentieth century,the belief that those unfit to breed shouldbe stopped from doing so began to grow inpopularity. Preventive methods proposed includedsegregation, sterilisation, euthanasia,and abortion, as well as birth control. Thisdesire to control population was not entirelyfocused on the poor; while the working classesshould limit their families, many eugenicistsand Malthusians were dismayed that themiddle classes were having fewer children.</div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;">The well-off woman was seen as shirking herduty by not improving the stock.While the Eugenics Education Society was formed in 1907, it was during the 1920s and1930s that the eugenics movement grew, attractingwell-known intellectuals such as Sydneyand Beatrice Webb and Bertrand andDora Russell. Although the society’s leadinglights were on the left, and an unsuccessfulbill was put forward in 1931 by a Labour MP to sterilise the unfit, there was a certain suspicionamong Labour Party members that eugenicswas focused on eliminating theworking class. As indeed it was: ProfessorF.A.E. Carew, when giving evidence to the1937 Birkett Enquiry into abortion, urged thatthe “slum womb” be abolished.In contrast, as Ann Farmer recalls in hernewly published study of abortion and eugenicsBy Their Fruits, the WestminsterCatholic Federation told the Birkett Enquirythat it was social conditions, not the child,that should be changed. It was a plea thatwent unheeded among the proponents ofabortion. Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service and oneof the staunchest advocates of the right toabortion in this country, revealed in a paperon abortion given at Kent University that policymakers long focused on limiting the childrenof the poor, right up to the passing ofthe 1967 Abortion Act.“Parliamentary discussion of the AbortionAct explicitly discussed its use in preventingunfit mothers from having unsuitable families,”she told the one-day conference. “Contemporarymedical journals discussed thevalidity of legal abortion alongside the needfor a birth control plan for Britain to limitthe numbers of the poor.”Back in the 1930s, as Ann Farmer’s meticulouslyresearched account reveals, a networkof campaigners made up of Eugenics Society members belonged to a wide rangeof other organisations and worked across party political lines, pushing for abortion andsterilisation for just these reasons. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the midstof all this was Marie Stopes. Stopes came toprominence in 1918 with the publication ofMarried Love, which had sold 400,000 copiesby 1923. In 1921, she and her husband, theaviator H.V. Roe, set up London’s first birthcontrolclinic in north London and formedthe Society for Constructive Birth Controland Racial Progress. Her views went well beyondan interest in people’s sexual wellbeing.“Are these puny-faced, gaunt, blotchy,ill-balanced, feeble, ungainly, withered childrenthe young of an Imperial race?” she askedthe readers of The Daily Mail in 1919 in anarticle entitled “Mrs Jones does her worst”.“Mrs Jones”, she went on, “is destroyingthe race!” </div><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The following year, in her book RadiantMotherhood, she urged that “the sterilisationof those </div><div style="text-align: justify;">totally unfit for parenthoodbe made an immediate possibility, indeedmade compulsory.” Marie Stopes’ beliefs affectedher own family. She cut her son outof her will for marrying a short-sightedwoman, outraged at the harm it wouldcause to her own bloodline. “Mary andHarry are quite callous about both thewrong to their children, the wrong to my familyand the eugenic crime.”These beliefs took Stopes to Germany, whereshe attended the Nazis’ Berlin congress onpopulation science in 1935. They were beliefsshe maintained throughout her life, leavingher money to the Eugenics Society andhelping to set up the International PlannedParenthood Federation in the 1950s, arguingthat no society should allow “the diseased,the racially negligent, the careless, the feeble-minded and the very lowest and worstmembers of the community to produce innumerabletens of thousands of warped andinferior infants”.<br /></div></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;">Such extreme language might seem outdatedtoday, but Stopes would no doubtapprove of the </div><div style="text-align: justify;">screening for congenitalabnormality so heavily promotedby the NHS, whose end result is frequentlytermination. And yet the numbers of childrenwith Down’s is increasing. The number of babiesborn with the condition has risen by25 per cent in the past 15 years in Britain. Accordingto Frank Buckley, chief executive ofDSEI and co-author of the charity’s new report:“More people are living with Down’s syndromethan ever before, with over 600,000across Europe and North America andmaybe 4 million worldwide.”All kinds of reasons could explain the increasein the number of Down’s children.Women are having children later in life, thusincreasing the likelihood of chromosomal abnormality.They feel encouraged to have thembecause other parents and charities have lobbiedhard for better healthcare and better opportunities for their children.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;">Above all, these figures are a sign that wehave made progress in the twenty-first century– not because of genetic screening butbecause, unlike Marie Stopes, people havelearned that they need not fear those who they deem less than perfect.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhwAgn2IvRv_QCh238pP47T1sgki-uDP7UHAirXtFVSlQSXvi4wZWHU5aUxGxK38oqNPGqhKJTMHdtG1FNtzEYf4pMpik24EZE0c8Yh5uiyLC_k7n54p-Q-dkmTN0EB7_bZlZLxK8irM8F/s320/Eugenics+and+Contraception.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 232px; height: 220px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261665363575941538" /><div style="text-align: justify;">Marie Stopes,honoured on a new postage stamp, is well known as a pioneer in the field of contraception.What is less well known is the influence on her work of her belief in eugenics – that bylimiting the numbers of the poor by birth control it would be possible to improve the English ‘race’A woman for our time?The Royal Mail’s stamp featuring MarieStopes: her belief in eugenics took her tothe Nazis’ Berlin congress on populationscience in 1935</div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><hr style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "></span></a><a href="http://familyandlifecommission.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaQW8wD7UI/AAAAAAAABx4/D4kJz_NJfMg/s200/family2.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://pondongpinoy.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" lowsrc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPaZ4ENj6CI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/CFXDU6s2sj4/s200/pondongpinoy.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><a href="http://sanpablomedia.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" lowsrc="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLfaXw2xiJs/SPabgnjoFYI/AAAAAAAAB0o/I48eipc-okU/s200/media.jpg" width="25" height="25" /></a><br /></div></div>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-34486479040623452562008-10-12T23:12:00.000+08:002008-10-12T23:14:52.786+08:00Undergoing MyBlogLog Verific<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; "><a href="http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/community/familyandlifecommission/" rel="90a6b3183b7720ea83dc32be2c27f4696807470a">Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification</a></span>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-51642683545363585202008-10-05T07:02:00.001+08:002008-10-06T07:06:37.399+08:00Thousands attend Legazpi’s “Prayer-Rally for Life”<div style="text-align: justify;">LEGAZPI, Oct. 5, 2008—Over 4,000 Albayanos trooped to Penaranda Park to attend the “Prayer-Rally for Life” sponsored by the Diocese of Legazpi City, Friday, October 3.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Apostolic Vicar, Bishop Lucilo B. Quiambao led the crowd in calling for strong opposition to House Bill 5043 whose principal author is Albay Congressman Edcel C. Lagman.<br /></div><div class="node" id="node-5026" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-top-style: dotted; border-right-style: dotted; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-left-style: dotted; border-top-color: rgb(18, 88, 158); border-right-color: rgb(18, 88, 158); border-bottom-color: rgb(18, 88, 158); border-left-color: rgb(18, 88, 158); clear: both; "><div class="content" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; "><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Students, religious groups and lay people from Legazpi’s three vicariates carried placards opposing the consolidated bill and marched the streets of the city before converging at Peñaranda Park for the speeches and concelebrated Mass.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Dra. Ligaya Acosta, Executive Director of Human Life International – Asia and former DOH employee, delivered an impassioned appeal to all Bicolanos to support the fight against the pending RH Bill up for plenary debate at the House of Representatives.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">She said Bicolanos should be conscious of the negative effects of abortifacients and condoms, pills, injectibles, which will severely affect women’s health. She also underscored the bill’s unconstitutionality.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In his homily, Bishop Lucilo Quiambao said the Catholic Church’s position remains unchanging, that “human life begins at conception” as against the bill which adopts the view that life begins at the moment of implantation.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Bishop Quiambao lambasted the RH bill’s clause for mandatory for sex education for children and adolescents, saying that a child does not yet need to know things which are not yet appropriate at one’s age which will lead to promiscuity.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The bishop also cited his opposition to calling contraceptives in the bill as essential medicines.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The participants ended the payer-rally with a candle-lighting ceremony calling on God not to allow the passage of the controversial house bill.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">“The Prayer-Rally for Life” was aired over local stations DwBS-AM (Radio Veritas), DZGB-AM and TV-6 Legazpi. (Jose M. Locsin, Jr.)</span></p></div></div></div>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-81108717496029959152008-10-05T06:56:00.000+08:002008-10-06T06:57:58.615+08:00Church’s stand on reproductive bill uncompromising<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; "><h1 class="title" style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 26px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 14px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px; ">MANILA, Oct. 5, 2008—The Catholic Church’s position on the Reproductive Health bill is absolute, said an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).</span><br /></h1><div class="node" id="node-5024" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-top-style: dotted; border-right-style: dotted; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-left-style: dotted; border-top-color: rgb(18, 88, 158); border-right-color: rgb(18, 88, 158); border-bottom-color: rgb(18, 88, 158); border-left-color: rgb(18, 88, 158); clear: both; "><div class="content" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; "><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">CBCP spokesperson Msgr. Pedro Quitorio III said there’s no way that the Church will soften its position against the controversial bill currently pending in Congress.</p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">“As of now, the stand of the CBCP on the RH bill is absolute. There’s no way to compromise,” he said in a forum in Intramuros, Manila.</p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Quitorio, however, admitted that they haven’t come up with a plan yet on what their next move will be in the event the bill is approved in Congress.</p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">“The leadership hasn’t thought of what will happen afterwards. I can just surmise that if it gets approved, the CBCP will definitely do something,” he said.</p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">At present, he said, they are concentrating on lobbying against the bill because of its anti-life provisions.</p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">On Thursday, it was reported that the number of legislators in favor of the Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood, and Population Development Act of 2008 or House Bill (HB) 5043 climbed to 108 from 103, only 12 votes shy of approval in the House of Representatives. The bill needs 120 votes to be approved on second reading.</p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">On the other hand, CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Family and Life head and Pampanga Archbishop Paciano Aniceto said he is not in the least bothered by the development as he expressed confidence that the lawmakers would eventually make the right decision in the final voting.</p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">“This is not a statistical contest. Above all our strategy here is a prayerful campaign. We will pray for the whole church that they will ask for divine assistance and we also pray for our legislators. They are men and women who are educated and they have their own conscience. This is also a test of maturity for our legislators,” he said.</p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) also joined the Catholic Church’s voice in opposing the bill.</p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">"We stand by the Church as she respectfully signified her strong objection to the contraceptive program the Bill promotes, considering the practices which it shall engender," CEAP said in a statement posted on their website (<a href="http://www.ceap.org.ph/" title="www.ceap.org.ph" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; background-image: url(http://www.cbcpnews.com/themes/grid_inspired/images/dot.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: initial; font-weight: bold; background-position: 0% 100%; ">www.ceap.org.ph</a>).</p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">"Both Sacred Scripture and Reason proposed that the best form of birth regulation is self-discipline," it added.</p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Instead of allotting P2 billion from taxpayer’s money for the purchase of contraceptives, the CEAP has urged lawmakers to use the money for education, livelihood and basic public services.</p><p style="text-align: justify;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) is the biggest organized group of Catholic schools in the country, with about 1,252 member schools. (CBCPNews)</p></div></div></span>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-86863508839966548222008-10-03T20:43:00.001+08:002008-10-03T20:45:39.295+08:00Legazpi holds “Prayer for Life” today<div style="text-align: justify;">LEGAZPI CITY, October 3, 2008—The Diocese of Legazpi will hold its “Prayer- Rally for Life” today at 3:00 P.M. in response to the controversial measures provided in the Reproductive Health bill principally authored by Albay’s First District Congressman Edcel C. Lagman.<br /><br /><br />During the preparatory meeting, Apostolic Vicar Lucilo B. Quiambao was quoted saying Lagman’s bill is “useless.” He said “the statistics shown in a recent article by former Senator Francisco “Kit” Tatad warned we might become like Europe where the population is going down at a dangerously alarming rate, if ever the bill will be approved by Congress.”<br /><br /><br />Different religious groups and agencies are expected to join the activity and bring placards with messages against the bill. The marchers will converge at Peñaranda Park, Old Albay District this city.<br /><br /><br />Dr. Ligaya Acosta, noted Pro-Life advocate and former Department of health official will talk on the negative repercussions on the people should the bill be approved in Congress. A signature campaign against the bill will also be launched.<br /><br /><br />The prayer-rally will end with a concelebrated Mass.<br /><br /><br />The prayer rally is held on the eve of the annual Marian Youth pilgrimage tomorrow to Joroan, Tiwi, Albay, where the Shrine of Nuestra Senor de Salvacion is located.<br /><br /><br />The prayer rally today is under the auspices of the Diocesan Commission on Famiyl and Life under the leadership of Fr. Edgar Sayson. (Jose Locsin, Jr.)</div>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-65921842224125616492008-10-03T20:33:00.004+08:002008-10-03T20:38:44.978+08:00LAIKO petitions lawmakers to junk reproductive health bill<div style="text-align: justify;">LOILO CITY, October 3, 2008—Dissenting voices to the passage of the controversial reproductive health bill have reached a crescendo with the signing of a petition against its passage by members of LAIKO during its regional conference held recently in Iloilo City.<br /><br />Representatives of various lay organizations and movements all over the country who participated in the LAIKO regional conference signed up a petition asking legislators to junk the RH bill that is currently being debated in Congress.<br /><br />Dr. Dolores Octaviano, an internist and endocrinologist working at St. Paul’s Hospital in Iloilo City delivered a fiery speech to Laiko participants during the conference lambasting pro-choice lawmakers for their insensitivity to the needs of their constituents.<br /><br />“I hope these legislators will realize that they should not lord it over the people who have elected them… If they legislate laws that go against their identity of being a legislator then they have no business passing the law,” said Octaviano.<br /><br />An active member of the Jaro Archdiocesan Commission on Family and Life since 2005, Octaviano, also a member of Human Life International, has recently been elected in charge of the Visayas area for family and life advocacy.<br /><br />She said lawmakers should discern well and see if their decision is in accordance with the will of God.<br /><br />“Legislators should legislate laws that are for the good of the people. If the law they want to pass will do a lot of havoc to the people they promise to serve, then whom are they serving?” Octaviano asked.<br /><br />Awareness campaign<br /><br />Octaviano goes around giving talks to schools, both private and public. She also gives talks to different organizations making them aware of the side effects of the reproductive health bill.<br />Being a medical doctor, Octaviano knows whereof she speaks. In one of her awareness campaign, she said she got shocked from the reaction of a woman from the audience.<br /><br />“The bill has been here for the past 40 years but we never heard any doctor talk about the side effects. You are the first physician who talked about [its] side effects,” the woman told her.<br /><br />When asked if she talks with the doctors regarding her advocacy, Octaviano said she tries to approach one doctor at a time. She said she tries to be prudent in approaching doctors on this subject since not all doctors believe in her advocacy.<br /><br />Octaviano said she started talking with one obstetrician about it. Now, more obstetricians she talked with have stopped ligating their patients.<br /><br />Although ligation is a national program of government, Octaviano is not sure if the practice is observed in all hospitals.<br /><br />But she talked of one instance when a doctor tried to force her helper to sign a document that would allow the doctor to ligate her.<br /><br />“One time after doing my rounds in one hospital, I saw this doctor running after a pregnant woman, saying ‘have yourself ligated.’ So I scolded the doctor,” said Octaviano.<br /><br />She said St. Paul Hospital, being a Catholic institution does not allow this practice but other hospitals do, whether public or private.<br /><br />When asked if patients are given options, she said, “I don’t know of other patients but those who were not informed, they are made to believe as if this should be the case. They give you a scenario [that] it’s almost impossible to say no.”<br /><br />But there are also sensible doctors who sit down with their patients and advise them to think of their options, Octaviano said. (Pinky Barrientos, FSP)</div>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-48268993735771348122008-10-03T20:17:00.000+08:002008-10-03T20:20:19.964+08:00Resolution Condemning UN<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Resolution Condemning UN<br />Committees Introduced in US<br />House of Representatives<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Austin Ruse<br /> <br /> (</span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">WASHINGTON</span></st1:City><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">, </span><st1:state><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">DC</span></st1:State></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> – C-FAM) A resolution was introduced in the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">United States</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> House of Representatives this week condemning two United Nations committees. The non-binding resolution was introduced by Republican Thad McCotter (R-MI) and specifically condemns actions taken by the Human Rights Committee (HRC) and the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The resolution singles out these two committees for reinterpreting hard-law treaties to include a right to abortion and trying to force sovereign states who have ratified the treaties into accepting these new interpretations. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The resolution charges that the committees’ "unelected members...operate without any formal oversight and entirely unaccountable to the United Nations system and Member States." The resolution further charges that these "unelected members…change the meaning" of the documents they are charged with monitoring "from the original text negotiated by sovereign states."<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Though neither the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights nor the CEDAW treaty mention abortion and, as stated in the Resolution, "establishes or implies a right to abortion," the Committees routinely tell governments they must change their laws protecting the unborn.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The resolution cites five examples where the Committees criticized </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ireland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> on abortion. In August 1999, the CEDAW Committee told </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ireland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> "the Committee is concerned that, with very limited exceptions, abortion remains illegal in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ireland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">" and told the government to "facilitate a national dialogue on women's reproductive rights, including on the restrictive abortion laws." Six years later the Committee admitted that a national dialogue had taken place "with five separate referendums held on three separate occasions." Even so, the Committee again told </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ireland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> again to facilitate a national dialogue on abortion. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> In July 2000 the Human Rights Committee told </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ireland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> that "the State should ensure that women are not compelled to continue with pregnancies where that is incompatible with (committee directives and decisions)." <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> UN Committees that oversee the implementation of UN treaties are made up of "experts" in each area and are generally drawn from academia, advocacy groups and non-governmental organizations. These Committees take it upon themselves to reinterpret the treaties and then ask governments to act on these changes. These statements by these committees are then used by radical lawyers on the ground to initiate law suits.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The Congressional Resolution "strongly rebukes the efforts" of the two committees, "calls into question the merit of using United States taxpayer-generated revenues to support them," and "urges countries with restrictions on the practice of abortion to remain steadfast in the time-honored traditions and verities of their cultures…"<br /><br /> David Quinn, president of the Dublin-based Iona Institute told the Friday Fax, "Congressman McCotter deserves congratulations for bringing this to public attention. The bullying behavior of the UN towards countries which have pro-life laws, such as </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ireland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">, is deplorable, unconscionable and needs to be brought to an end."<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Given the political make-up of the US House of Representatives, it is unlikely that the resolution will pass. However, McCotter's staff told the Friday Fax they expect to continue with such efforts in the future. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ireland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is set to appear before the CEDAW committee in January. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Countries Emphasize Basic<br />Health Care, Not Reproductive<br />Health at UN MDG Meeting</h3><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">By Samantha Singson<br /> <br /> (NEW YORK – C-FAM) At United Nations headquarters this week, countries participated in a special high level event to discuss progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Declaring that MDG 5 to improve maternal health has seen the least progress of all the MDGs, participants emphasized good basic health care, not “universal access to reproductive health,” as the best ways of reducing maternal mortality.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"> During the discussions on the health-related MDGs, countries lamented that maternal mortality rates remained unacceptably high and focused their attention on the two proven methods of reducing maternal deaths – increasing skilled attendants at birth and improving emergency obstetric care.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"> In the lead-up to this week’s high level meeting, top UN officials like Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid have stressed “universal access to reproductive health” to reduce maternal mortality, a theme she repeated at a separate side event co-sponsored by the governments of Chile, Finland and Tanzania. Ban Ki-Moon’s 2008 report on the MDGs laments that “universal access to reproductive health remains a distant dream in many countries.”</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"> In 2000, when UN member states agreed to adopt eight broad, largely non-controversial Millennium Development Goals which address issues like eradicating poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, and reducing child mortality, “reproductive health” was deliberately left out. None of the MDGs makes any mention of “reproductive health” and neither does the Millennium Declaration upon which they are based.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"> When the MDGs were first negotiated, abortion advocates like International Planned Parenthood Federation launched aggressive campaigns to get a separate goal on “reproductive health.” Those efforts failed and advocates have attempted instead to attaching “reproductive health” to the existing MDGs.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"> Abortion advocates declared victory in 2005 when “universal access to reproductive health” appeared as the “target” in the annex of a report from then-Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Since then, despite consistent pushback from countries such as the United States that no new target on reproductive health has been approved by the members of the General Assembly, top UN officials have pushed the reproductive health target on member states as though it was an agreed target under the MDGs.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"> Pro-abortion groups have used the reproductive health target to promote the legalization and liberalization of abortion laws, claiming that countries now have an obligation to provide “safe and legal abortions” because of their commitments to reduce maternal mortality.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"> Concerns remain that the maternal health goal will be used to push abortion. While the word “abortion” was never mentioned at the special side event, the heads of state of both <st1:country-region><st1:place>Chile</st1:place></st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region><st1:place>Finland</st1:place></st1:country-region> spoke about access to “reproductive health services.” This contrasted with the statements of the Tanzanian president who stressed the need for basic obstetric health care.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"> The primary outcome of the high-level event will be a Secretary-General’s summary of the discussions from this week, as well as a compilation of the commitments made by states and members of civil society. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will also be asking states to agree to an MDG review summit scheduled for 2010.<br /> </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">For more news, visit us at <a href="http://www.c-fam.org/" target="_blank">www.c-fam.org</a>. </p>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758215630051553830.post-88569465457896409122008-10-03T20:12:00.002+08:002008-10-03T20:17:22.467+08:00Petition From C-Fam<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2008" day="29" month="9">September 29, 2008</st1:date><br /> <br /> <br />Dear Friend,<br /> <br />The UN will celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this December 10th.<br /> <br />To celebrate this occasion, radical pro-abortion groups intend to present the UN General Assembly with petitions calling for a universal right to abortion.<br /> <br />The largest, richest and most powerful pro-abortion groups are even now planning their attack on the unborn at the General Assembly.<br /> <br />Campaigns are being waged right now by International Planned Parenthood Federation and Maire Stopes International, the two groups responsible for more abortions than any other groups in the world. Both are beloved of the powers that be at the UN; and their efforts to promote an international right to abortion are welcomed by many UN Member States, perhaps most of the UN bureaucracy, and powerful US foundations that give millions to promote abortion at the UN and around the world.<br /> <br />We must stop them this December.<br /> <br />I am writing to ask you to sign a petition calling on UN Members States to interpret the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as protecting the unborn child from abortion. Did you know that the Universal Declaration calls for a right to life? Did you know that UN committees now interpret that as a right to abortion? We can stop them.<br /> <br />Please go <a href="http://www.c-fam.org/publications/id.95/default.asp" target="_blank">HERE</a> to sign the petition which we will present at the UN on December 10th, the celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At the very least we must match what the pro-abortion advocates will present to the UN that day! They will present thousands and thousands of names. WE MUST MATCH THEM!<br /> <br />Go <a href="http://www.c-fam.org/publications/id.95/default.asp" target="_blank">HERE</a> to sign the petition and then please send this email to all of your family and friends. Our goal is to present 50,000+ names to the General Assembly. We need your help right now to block the pro-aborts from making huge progress for abortion at the UN.<br /> <br />We are going to run this campaign for the next six weeks. There is plenty of time to get this petition to everyone in your address book and all around the world. This is an international right. Please help us now.<br /> <br />Imagine the look on their faces when we slam down 50,000 names! Be a part of that. Sign the petition <a href="http://www.c-fam.org/publications/id.95/default.asp" target="_blank">HERE</a> and send this all over the world.<br /> <br />Yours sincerely,<br /> <br />Austin Ruse <br />President<br />C-FAM <br />(The only pro-life group working exclusively on UN social policy)</p>San Pablo Family and Life Commissionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682284659625455688noreply@blogger.com0