Bishop encourages reading of full RH bill

MANILA, Philippines - A Manila bishop urged Filipinos over the weekend to read in full the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill so they would not be swayed by "pro-RH" surveys. Manila bishop Teodoro Bacani Jr. contested a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showing 71 percent of respondents favor the bill. "I invite people to read the whole bill, and not to endorse it without knowing the evil it proposes as a cure for our problems. If I present you with a beautiful cake and tell you how delicious and nutritious it is, and then ask you if you like to eat it, and then add afterwards that I have laced it with poison, would you eat that cake? The RH bill has many good intentions and points, but it is fatally flawed by its anti-life provisions," he said. Bacani is a spiritual adviser of the Catholic charismatic group El Shaddai. The bill is now pending in the House of Representatives, which along with the Senate, would resume session on Nov. 10. He noted that in the survey, respondents favored the bill because it was explained as "a proposal ... that gives the government the duty to promote responsible parenthood through giving enough information to the people, and having safe, legal, affordable and quality reproductive health care service for people who want it." The prelate said that while people would approve of the bill if it were presented this way, this is "not a fair presentation of its content." On the other hand, he noted only 46 percent of the respondents knew of the bill before the survey, adding they may not even know what it contained. "How could they make an informed choice on the matter when they knew about the bill only during the survey, had not even read the bill, and then heard the bill described to them in such an innocent-sounding way?" he said. "Actually, the RH bill cannot stand the light of truth. People only have to know what it proposes to do, and they will dump it. The moment they realize that these so-called contraceptive drugs and devices are not only contraceptive but abortifacient, they will reject the bill," he added. - GMANews.TV