A watered-down version of the reproductive health bill has been introduced to the plenary of the House of Representatives to address the concerns raised by opponents of the controversial measure.

The changes include giving priority to the poor in the provision of birth control methods and banning contraceptives that prevent the implantation of a fertilized ovum, as this is considered abortion by some sectors.

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Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the new version was a “definite step forward” for the bill, which has met strong opposition in and out of Congress.

“It’s a bill that answers a lot of the objections to the original bill,” Belmonte said Thursday.

Some of the opponents will find the new version more acceptable “with a little more tinkering,” although there are those who still find it hard to accept such a measure, he said.

Compromise

Authors of the bill intend to substitute the watered-down bill to the original one so that the compromise measure would be the basis of proposed individual amendments later, House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II told reporters on Wednesday night.

Gonzales said copies of the “proposed working draft” of the new bill were being distributed to lawmakers so that they could peruse it during Congress’ two-week break that started Thursday, and make a more informed decision about their stand on the bill.

The proposed Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population Development Act is one of the “very important” bills that the House has to act on when it returns from its two-week recess, Belmonte told lawmakers before the House adjourned on Wednesday.

One of the main authors of the bill, Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, said the new features of the bill were intended to address the objections, reservations and concerns of its critics. These were in addition to the other changes that the authors announced earlier.

Suggestions accommodated

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“The foregoing new and old acceptable amendments do not dilute or destroy the essence of the original bill even as they accommodate the suggestions and concerns of well-meaning [opponents],” Lagman said in a statement.

The new version says the state would prioritize the needs of poor households when it comes to providing reproductive healthcare services and devices.

The impoverished men and women to be provided services must be identified through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction and other government methods of identifying marginalization. They must also be voluntary beneficiaries of reproductive healthcare, services and supplies for free.

The new bill also says that the state should guarantee public access to relevant information and education on medically safe, legal, ethical, affordable, effective and quality reproductive health-care services, methods, devices and supplies.

These methods and supplies must not prevent the implantation of a fertilized ovum, as determined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the draft bill said.

Prohibited devices

Gonzales explained that the prohibition against devices that would prevent the implantation of a fertilized ovum stemmed from concerns raised by opponents who said that contraceptives that destroy fertilized ovum were considered abortifacients.

Other contraceptives not considered abortifacients are those that prevent ovulation and those that prevent fertilization.

The new draft bill also recognizes parents’ religious beliefs when it comes to exercising their reproductive health rights.

Responsible parenthood

The compromise measure defines responsible parenthood as the will, ability and commitment of parents to adequately respond to the needs and aspirations of the family and children by responsibly and freely exercising their reproductive health rights consistent with their religious conviction.

The draft bill also requires the state to promote openness to life and adds that parents should only have children that they could raise in a “truly humane way.”

Population targets dropped

Another new provision requires state funding to promote modern and natural methods of family planning consistent with the needs of acceptors.

There would also be no demographic and population targets. The mitigation, promotion or stabilization of the population growth rate would just be incidental to the advancement of reproductive health and sustainable human development.

Priority

The new draft bill also states that when it comes to family planning information and services, making women of reproductive age fully aware of their respective fertility cycles shall be the priority.

Reproductive health and sexuality education shall also be done with due deference to cultural, religious and ethical norms of various communities.

Sectarian schools would be given flexibility in teaching reproductive health and sexuality education, within the provisions and parameters of the section on age-appropriate mandatory reproductive health and sexuality education.

The FDA would also be required to update the Philippine National Drug Formulary with respect to modern family planning products and supplies in accordance with standard medical practice.

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