EDITORIAL - Living beyond the planet's means

For some time, the population factor has been downplayed during international gatherings to protect the environment. This time, at the 2012 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the world’s top scientific academies are setting aside concerns over political correctness and emphasizing that changes in population and consumption patterns are crucial factors in reducing poverty and saving the planet.

Citing studies on biodiversity loss, climate change and ocean acidification, Gisbet Glaser of the International Council for Science said, “We are living beyond the planet’s means. That’s scientifically proven.” In a joint report, the IAP or Global Network of Science Academies – a coalition of over 100 scientific institutions – called on participants at the Rio+20 Earth Summit, or the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, to take decisive action on population and consumption, including providing contraceptives and family planning services to those who want it in developing countries.

In the Philippines, access to reproductive health services is made more urgent amid reports that cases of maternal deaths are on the rise. Findings in the family health survey conducted by the National Statistics Office showed that the maternal mortality rate stood at 221 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2011, up from 162 deaths in 2006. The country aims to bring down the number to 52 by 2015, in keeping with Millennium Development Goals. Sen. Pia Cayetano, who together with Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago principally authored the Reproductive Health bill in the Senate, said that without the passage of the measure, the MDG goal might not be achieved.

At the House of Representatives, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman has pointed out that maternal deaths are “both a public health concern and a social justice issue.” It is also a human rights issue, as all women have a right to reproductive health care, and the poor are entitled to something enjoyed by the educated and financially independent: an informed choice on spacing childbirths and practicing contraception.

Saving mothers, and reducing pressure on finite supplies to save the Earth – these should be enough reasons to push measures to promote reproductive health.