Who will fund ‘freedom of conscience’?

The debate about birth control has many sides – religious, moral, scientific, social, economic and political, etc. The trouble is that the many sides overlap and a person wanting to be guided can be easily confused.

To me, the confusion comes from opportunists who use the issue for their own political agenda. Is it possible to detach the issue from opportunism and examine it on its own merits? As it is being debated in Philippine media yet again unfortunately, politics is the factor that dominates.

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Vatican’s position about birth control is an unbroken line of tradition and policy. Birth control is “wrong”. It does not mean that there has been no struggle within the Church to reconcile ancient doctrine with modern times. There have been changes but the essential teaching against birth control remains. For example, the rhythm method (not having sex on certain days with the intent to avoid child-making) once banned is now OK.

The essential policy of the Catholic Church was enunciated by the late Pope John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae which was published in 1995.

It spoke against “abortion and contraception as both being evil slayers of potential children God intended to create.” He said “children are the supreme gift of marriage” that any couple should be waiting for gladly.  But he stoked political controversy when he blamed “developed nations who try to bring contraceptives to third world nations because of ‘selfishness’ – that they want there to be fewer third worlders around so there is ‘more’ for the wealthy people.”

The policy has continued under Pope Benedict XVI. Speaking to Italians from the Vatican he said he feels “they are having too few children and therefore causing the downfall of the Catholic religion.”

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President GMA has come out publicly to acknowledge the Church’s position. She is a Roman Catholic herself so if she did not agree with its teachings then she would have to give up her religion. So when she is criticized for “siding” with the Church doctrine on birth control, are they saying that she ought to give up her faith? Some of these critics are priests themselves who think it is possible to be true to their calling while denying the church’s ruling.

At the same time, some government officials have come out to say that the Palace is not discouraging artificial birth control. The Catholic Church, which advocates natural family planning methods can still be a partner of the government population program.

The birth control program has been kicked around for sometime now. Although Ozamiz Archbishop Jesus Dosado shocked when he said holy communion will not be given to Catholic legislators pushing for reproductive health bills, bishops have long sent threatening letters even before the controversy. But with hard times and the USAID program for family planning coming to an end, the issue has flared up. Will the government make funds available to continue the program?

It is a question both of money and policy. Former Health secretary Alberto Romualdez has bravely called on the government to adopt a family planning policy. He cited statistics showing that the Philippine population grew to 88.57 million last year compared to 76.5 million in 2000.

He says that with the rice shortage, soaring prices of basic commodities, high unemployment rate, housing shortage, brain drain, and the lack of basic services to accommodate the poor, the lack of a more effective population control program can be a disaster waiting to happen. It will mean more uneducated and unhealthy children in the future because of less money for health and education. The Philippines has one of the highest population growth rates in the region with 2.36 percent. It prides itself as the only Catholic country in the region as well. We need to bring down population growth if we are to become environmentally and socially sustainable.

In this regard it will be futile to call on the principle of the separation between Church and State because in the Philippines that division is blurred by an enduring legacy from our colonial period. The Church holds political sway so I have no doubts that the government will want to be on the right side of it with elections not too far away. That is why the debates are useless and are not meant to enlighten or resolve. Better to look to the Protestants who came to accept the use of modern contraceptives as a matter of freedom of conscience. But what about our teeming poor who are disallowed their conscience through lack of education and money? How are they to use their consciences to decide whether or not to have more children?

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It is always heartening to know about the successes of young Filipinos. One such young Filipino is Ronald Ivan Briz Rosario, son of a Pagcor officer from San Pablo City. Ronald was among those who competed and won first place in a national competition for Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL).

Ronald, with other members of his team, Shum Bhatt, Rushil Desai presented their position to a panel of judges in Management Decision Making and brought home first place. “The experience and knowledge gained by student members of Future Business Leaders of America extends far beyond the classroom. It’s exciting to be recognized as one of the ‘best of the best’ in the country,” said Nancy Ostrowski, chapter adviser. It is a pity if the country loses its own talented youth to other countries. We must find a way to bring their talents to the Philippines.

The winners of these highly competitive and prestigious awards were selected from among FBLA-PBL’s membership of 250,000 students and advisers and represent some of the best and brightest of today’s youth. Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, Inc. is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) education association with a quarter million members and advisers in 12,000 chartered middle school, high school, and college chapters worldwide. The association is in Reston, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.fbla-pbl.org.