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Weekly Question #11: Au Naturale?
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Should people heed the call of the Catholic Church to not use artificial means of contraception/reproductive health products and services OR should they go ahead, talk to their doctors and plan for how they want to practice family planning?
When I was a nursing student, I learned the pros and cons of birth control. As future members of the health care community, we have discussed issues regarding this topic and had endless debates as to whether using contraceptive methods are morally wrong.
First of, I would like to explain what contraception means. Contraception, sometimes synonymous with birth control, is a regimen, device, or use of medications in order to deliberately prevent pregnancy. There are different types of contraception methods namely, the natural and artificial methods. Natural forms of contraception range from the rhythm method, to coitus interuptus, to abstinence. On the other hand, the artificial form of contraception would be the use of devices and/or medications and hormones like birth control pills, condoms, the use of abortifacients, spermicides and the like. Abortifacients are becoming quite popular these days due to the increasing number of teenage pregnancy. Abortifacients are medications that induce abortion to get rid of the current pregnancy.
According to surveys, the Philippines is the 12th most populous country. With lack of jobs, increasing prices of basic needs, lack of fertile lands for farming, and depleting natural resources, the population issue should be addressed. The Catholic Church has a firm stand on contraception (artificial method); deeming this practice morally wrong. In fact, they only support the natural forms of contraception which are not as effective as the artificial forms of contraception.
As much as I would love to agree with the Church and their stand, current circumstances insist that a more active form of contraception be made.
I agree with this statement. They have no right to pass judgment on people. They keep on preaching on and on and on about using the natural form of contraception and yet, they aren't doing anything about it. Sure, people who are planning to get married have to go on a one month seminar regarding this matter but they (the Church) are not actively enforcing this. I know this is true because we got away with it when we had our seminar, but that is beside the point because I know the different forms of family planning and what not; now what about the others? So, before the Church would go on and on about not using artificial forms of birth control, I suggest they take an active interest in teaching and preaching the importance of limiting family numbers and using natural forms of family planning.
Looking at our country, we can see that there is an increasing number of underprivileged children. Most of them come from big families and their parents cannot afford to clothe them, much less feed them three times a day. I remember the children begging for food near Jollibee and children as young as 7, selling peanuts at El Amigo or in Rizal Boulevard. They do this every night and tell us that they cannot go home because they need to sell all their wares. Some even disclosed that they would get a beating if they can't sell all their peanuts. These children need to be at home studying and preparing for school and not roaming around the streets at night. Sadly, that is not the case.
Our school system has also dropped. A lot of children don't even go to school because they cannot afford it. They can't afford to buy books, notebooks, pencils, and even uniforms. Public schools provide free books but usually, they gather dust in a stock room somewhere because they just let the children use the old books instead, with 2-3 students sharing one book. If ever a child is lucky enough to be in school, they cannot study at night because they are out again, looking for money just to buy food for their family, something their parents are supposed to do.
How can we control our growing population when there are a lot of people who don't know what contraceptive to use? Our health teachings are quite futile because we know that people only attend them because we give away free snacks and prizes. It is quite obvious that our teachings still don't sink in and many families still have a hard time raising their kids. It seems that the only people who are intent on family planning are those who can afford to have a number of children.
Personally, I am not against using any form of contraception except abortifacients. I absolutely abhor abortion and would not recommend it.
With a high population rate, who knows what would happen? With our current unstable economy, who knows what problems this would bring?
First of, I would like to explain what contraception means. Contraception, sometimes synonymous with birth control, is a regimen, device, or use of medications in order to deliberately prevent pregnancy. There are different types of contraception methods namely, the natural and artificial methods. Natural forms of contraception range from the rhythm method, to coitus interuptus, to abstinence. On the other hand, the artificial form of contraception would be the use of devices and/or medications and hormones like birth control pills, condoms, the use of abortifacients, spermicides and the like. Abortifacients are becoming quite popular these days due to the increasing number of teenage pregnancy. Abortifacients are medications that induce abortion to get rid of the current pregnancy.
According to surveys, the Philippines is the 12th most populous country. With lack of jobs, increasing prices of basic needs, lack of fertile lands for farming, and depleting natural resources, the population issue should be addressed. The Catholic Church has a firm stand on contraception (artificial method); deeming this practice morally wrong. In fact, they only support the natural forms of contraception which are not as effective as the artificial forms of contraception.
As much as I would love to agree with the Church and their stand, current circumstances insist that a more active form of contraception be made.
Julie stated: the church should not pass judgment on people regarding their stance on the use of artificial contraception as morally wrong.
Looking at our country, we can see that there is an increasing number of underprivileged children. Most of them come from big families and their parents cannot afford to clothe them, much less feed them three times a day. I remember the children begging for food near Jollibee and children as young as 7, selling peanuts at El Amigo or in Rizal Boulevard. They do this every night and tell us that they cannot go home because they need to sell all their wares. Some even disclosed that they would get a beating if they can't sell all their peanuts. These children need to be at home studying and preparing for school and not roaming around the streets at night. Sadly, that is not the case.Our school system has also dropped. A lot of children don't even go to school because they cannot afford it. They can't afford to buy books, notebooks, pencils, and even uniforms. Public schools provide free books but usually, they gather dust in a stock room somewhere because they just let the children use the old books instead, with 2-3 students sharing one book. If ever a child is lucky enough to be in school, they cannot study at night because they are out again, looking for money just to buy food for their family, something their parents are supposed to do.
How can we control our growing population when there are a lot of people who don't know what contraceptive to use? Our health teachings are quite futile because we know that people only attend them because we give away free snacks and prizes. It is quite obvious that our teachings still don't sink in and many families still have a hard time raising their kids. It seems that the only people who are intent on family planning are those who can afford to have a number of children.
Personally, I am not against using any form of contraception except abortifacients. I absolutely abhor abortion and would not recommend it.
With a high population rate, who knows what would happen? With our current unstable economy, who knows what problems this would bring?
Weekly Questions Meme is hosted by Julie of GreenBucks.info.
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3 deranged screams:
Thanks Z for answering this question which I had to send for several times, haha.
I am seeing the issue eye-to-eye with you. I am not really concern whether couples use artificial method or go natural, as long as they can plan their family according to their capacity to practice responsible parenthood, fine with me. I am also concerned about what these would result in the long run. We have a small country and at the rate the resources are dwindling right now,I don't think we stand a chance to be a better nation if population is not controlled.
But how can this happen when people are not educated properly, and we go back to the reasoning about them not being able to attend school because of lack of financial resources. Vicious cycle it is.
Thanks for sharing your opinion on this matter.
Have a great week! :)
For the record...i only received them twice!
hehehe the vicious cycle should end...unfortunately we need to cut it from the source...education is the key...unfortunately there are parents who think that education is not even worth it!
i agree, sis ... usually kung sino yung less ang resources sila pa ang mas marami ang anak. i don't condemn them ... people just need to be educated properly. :)
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