GUBATAN, Gayle Q.

2NUR4
Class Number 31
Bioethics

RA 10354
Analysis Paper

Within the framework of World Health Organization’s definition of health as a state of

complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
UN agencies would claim that sexual and reproductive health would encompass that of an
individual’s physical and psychological well-being. (UNESCO. 2018) According to Hall (2012),
Individuals still face problems in regards to inequalities with attaining reproductive health services,
these inequalities depends upon the individual’s socioeconomic status, education level, age,
ethnicity, religion and resources available in their environment. It is possible that low income
individuals lack the resources for appropriate health services and knowledge to know what is
appropriate for maintaining their health. Aligned with this, RA 10354 or otherwise known as the
Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 was enacted in the country.

The act entails that men and women are ought to be informed of and to have access to
affordable, effective, safe and acceptable methods of birth control, with access to reproductive
medicine and health education programs to emphasize the importance of women to go safely with
pregnancy and childbirth that provides couples with the best chance of having a health infant. Very
pertinent to this is the stance implying that reproductive health is right to life. According to the
Philippine constitution, the state shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the
unborn. (2012). This also provides a way for midwives or health practitioners to execute skilled
childbirth and emergency obstetric care even in depressed areas, with this, the problem with
maternal mortality related to unattended births will be addressed. Another is this provides family
the right to choose within their informed conscience on what practice they would like to take may
it be among the natural or artificial methods. Reproductive health gives people the choice in which
contraception will be the best for them and prevents couples to have many children whom they
can’t feed, provide for, raise or give a good quality of living. With the evidence of high rates of
poverty, price hike and increase of STDs and AIDs in the country, the government leans on this
act as a solution to these crisis especially for those on the lower financial ladder, artificial methods
is also involved to be provided because natural methods still has the probability to fail and too
complex to understand. Another disadvantage is that some methods included also has their own
negative impact on the woman’s health, artificial methods such as the hormonal contraceptives,
injectables and IUDs may have varying negative effects on women’s health.

With all the accompanied benefits of RA 10354 the Catholic Church isn’t all agreeing with
the decision of the state. It is made clear that the nation shall be separate from the church, but with
ethical issues and dilemma arising with this specific concern, the Catholic Church still expresses
their opposition against this. Most especially on the movement on manufacture and distribution of
artificial contraceptives, the Church argues that this only heightens the rate of people that engage
in sex out of wedlock because contraceptives will be readily available for them. As a Catholic
health care practitioner it is important for me to stress the importance of inclining onto the natural
ways of contraceptives if a couple won’t settle for abstinence. This will be a dilemma if a health
care professional with a Catholic values be engage in a health care plan which involves teaching
family planning. This will violate the moral standards that we ascribe to and this will also pose a
problem if a client adheres strongly to their preference of artificial contraceptives. Most public
health facilities adhere to the law, that is the belief of artificial contraceptives is deemed acceptable,
but this will be a dilemma since Catholic Church isn’t totally all agreeing with the usage of
contraceptives. This is going to be more of a problem if the practitioner chooses to work abroad,
where contraceptives and even abortion is deemed as an acceptable practice in their country. And
it will be a matter of choosing to teach what you preach or teaching what the institution want you
to teach.

The National Budget has allocated Department of Health on 6th spot, while budget of 141B
pesos initially sound sufficient, knowing that Health isn’t even on the top three priority of the
country’s budget is concerning. In comparison, the defense department is getting P183.4 billion
($3.43 billion) or 46.9 billion more than the previous year's P136.5 billion ($2.55 billion) –
representing a 34.4% increase. Its allocation is 5% of the proposed 2019 budget. (Rappler, 2018)
and even then that this shows the proposed budget, in reality many Filipinos still suffer in the deep-
rooted poverty from access to healthcare and medicine that should ideally be a birthright of our
countrymen—which isn’t simply the case because medicine and health care expenses still is a
number one concern when it comes to out-of-pocket expenses by Filipinos. As far as health
education goes, one of the country’s problem is the openness of talking sexuality in casual
conversations, this action is still considered taboo for many, but with the emerging diseases
concerning sexuality. Sex education must be taught to impose higher awareness and readiness from
minors, especially with the increasing rate of teenage pregnancies in the country. One of the most
suitable ages that sex education can be taught is among children approaching adolescents and
young adolescents. This could range from 11 – 16 years old, however terms must be gradually
introduced to them and not the whole subject matter. With proper guidance and education, this will
lead younger audiences to make informed decisions regarding their actions and not just act harshly
according to their bodily urges. Another concern regarding family is married couples having
problems when making joint decisions, this stretches out from making simple day-to-day choices
to budgeting and to making big family decisions. Sometimes, one can assume a much dominant
role may it be influenced by their sex, gender, occupation or social status. But being married to
somebody is eternally self-giving and requires compromise from both individuals, they must end
up on a decision where both of them finds it ideal for them and for the other and not just from
themselves. Being in a marriage isn’t satisfying oneself but rather it’s how you would make
amends to end up in a decision you both don’t have regret in committing.