ONE HUNDRED and sixty professors of the Ateneo have signed a declaration of support for House Bill 4244, or more commonly known as the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill. The statement was released on August 13.
The statement, however, does not represent the stand of the university nor of the Society of Jesus.
“Conservative ‘powers’ should not stop us. It should go on,” said English Assistant Professor Cyan Abad-Jugo, PhD on the passage of the RH Bill.
Psychology Assistant Professor Judith de Guzman, PhD said that “the importance of individual faculty from the Ateneo de Manila University, coming out, showing support to the RH Bill, is to actually show that faith and reason may not collide—na ‘yung pagiging mabuting Christian at ‘yung pagsuporta ko sa RH Bill ay hindi naman magkahiwalay (that being a good Christian and showing support for the RH Bill are not necessarily divergent).”
Both Abad-Jugo and de Guzman signed the declaration of support.
The RH Bill, more formally known as “An Act Providing for a Comprehensive Policy on Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health, and Population and Development, and For Other Purposes,” aims to provide access to methods and information regarding birth control and maternal care.
At present, the House of Representatives is moving on to the period of amendments after the voting last week, although sessions have yet to resume due to heavy rains that caused the cancellation of work in government offices.
‘Compatible’ principles
According to the released statement, the RH Bill does not violate religious freedom. Instead, it helps the Filipinos to make informed choices.
Abad-Jugo said, “Of course, it is important to take a stand. And [through] a statement like this where I add my name to a list of names, I hope it encourages others to make a stand. Sometimes it’s not just about sides, it’s about informing.”
The statement points out that despite the fact that a large portion of the Filipino population is Catholic, majority of them want the “full range of family planning services including ‘artificial’ contraception.”
The statement further cited statistical data on maternal deaths and teen pregnancies. It then proceeded to state some of the advantages of passing the bill such as the centralized procurement and distribution of family planning supplies.
The professors who made and signed the statement “urge the Senate to terminate the interpellations on its counterpart measure, Senate Bill 2865 (the Reproductive Health Bill).”
“The time has come to vote on and pass the bill, and to make its enactment one of the enduring legacies that the 15th Congress and the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III can offer to the Filipino people,” as written in the statement.
It concludes with a request to the legislators “to muster the courage and wisdom to vote, not on the basis of vested interests, but in the service of the Filipino people and especially the poor from whom they derive and to whom they owe their mandate.”
“’Yung mga sectors ngayon, ang pagtingin nila doon sa issue ay tama o mali, pero in reality, hindi siya black and white, (The sectors of our society at present perceive the issue as either right or wrong, when in reality, it cannot be viewed as just black and white),” said de Guzman.
History
Three statements have already been released regarding the stand of Ateneo professors on the RH Bill.
The first statement, which was signed by 66 professors, was released in 2008.
Another statement was then released in 2011, which was signed by over 200 faculty members from the Ateneo and the University of the Philippines.
In response to the second statement, Fr. James Reuter, SJ, allegedly said that members of the Ateneo faculty who are supporting the RH Bill have no right to teach in the university.
“Yung kay Fr. Reuter, reported lang naman siya. Ateneo has always cultivated the spirit of dialogue, of critical thinking and of seeking the truth. I think the exercise of individual faculty members, coming up with this statement is actually an exercise in dialogue. We can only arrive at the truth if we try to let go of our misperceptions [and] preconceptions,” said de Guzman.
[…] legislation inside the heart of an ideological state apparatus. So, kudos to the 160 Ateneo professors for supporting the Reproductive Health (Responsible Parenthood, if you want to be politically […]