Can We Not Say Both Yes and No? (Gianna Velasquez's Reaction to RH Bill)

Coming from a Catholic family, it would definitely be against my religion for me to take the pro-RH bill side, but I believe that it is for the betterment of the country if the government would implement this bill as a law. Yes, I am a devout Catholic. Yes, my family is religious. But I believe that this RH bill is what we need for our country to experience economic growth and not just growth in the population of the country.

I think that it is best to implement the RH bill as a law so as to stop the continuous increase of the population of the masses, namely those who are in the lowest tier of the social classes. I believe that implementing this would help in teaching those who are not highly educated to know the consequences of having children more than they could afford to. These people must know the responsibilities of having children.

I believe that employing this bill as a law would lessen those who are of my age who are marrying at an early age because of unexpected pregnancy. This is because of their lack of knowledge of what awaits them when they have sex irresponsibly. This neglect of simple facts leads to severe results such as these teenagers not being able to finish their schooling and adding to the number of the people who are in the lowest tier of the social classes.

I cannot say that I agree to teaching sex education to young minds especially to those who are in grade school. Students in their 3^rd year would be the best market for this sex education. I consider it irresponsible and unethical to teach young children about things like sex and what happens if they would not be responsible. This so-called education would stain the pure minds of children at their early age.

The Catholic Church insists that it would be best to use the natural methods of family planning. But what difference does it make? Why do they say that it would be killing the life that is supposed to be formed if people would use contraceptives when in fact, the natural method that they want Filipinos to use would do the same as what these contraceptives do? I am not against what the Catholic Church fights for, it’s just that what they are fighting for is not logical for me.

I must also stress the fact that there is a separation of the Church from the State. Therefore, the Church must not hinder what the State implements especially of it is for the development and advancement of our country.

Take a look at how Singapore is now. It's economy is now one of the greatest ones in Asia and one of the factors which led to its growth is the two-child policy that was implemented in the country. This two-child policy might not be the same as our RH bill but it definitely shows that these bills regarding reproductive health give a positive effect on the mother country which implements that certain law. Another example is China which implemented the one-child policy basically because of its over population but this implementation also had positive effects on China's economy. Now, China's economy is booming all over the world.

I am a supporter of the RH bill. Though I believe that there should be changes in the bill before it would be acted out as a law, it would definitely be for the best of the country and its economy if we promote this bill. And those who will benefit most with the implementation of the RH bill would be the future generation because our act now would definitely make their future a brighter tomorrow.