MANILA -- The Reproductive Health bills being pushed in Congress are illegal and unnecessary, pro-life opponents of the measure said Monday.
Francisco Tatad, a former senator, speaking at a joint committee hearing on the RH bills, said there is no need to legislate a reproductive health policy.
He said provisions in a bill filed by Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago can already be implemented "right now with a modicum of creativity and political will".
Among the provisions in the Santiago bill is the creation of maternal health units at government hospitals and to hold maternal health reviews every year.
Tatad also said the claim that the RH bill seeks to give women the power to choose what contraceptive to use to plan their families is false. "It is misleading because women are already free to choose their contraception methods."
He further scored the proposed bill for violating the Constitution, saying
Section 12, Article II of the 1987 Constitution recognizes the family as a basic autonomous social institution.
The RH bill, by legislating what methods can be used for family planning, violates that autonomy, Tatad said. “It is an attempt to expand the power of the State into family life where it has no business whatsoever." (Jonathan de Santos/Sunnex)