Bangkok — Despite the world’s efforts to curb the population growth due to dwindling resources and the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) continuous effort to protect the rights of the women, the Philippines remains at the bottom when it comes to full implementation of reproductive health.
“The Congress, Senate, the Catholic Church hierarchy and the Supreme Court continuously opposed the full implementation of the RH (Reproductive Health) law. It affects access to full range of contraceptives and to RH information,” Twyla Rubin said during the celebration of World Population Day carrying the theme: “Family Planning: Empowering People, Developing Nations” in July 11 in Bangkok.
Rubin represented the Philippines’ Commission on Human Rights (CHR) as she heads the CHR Women’s Human Rights and Gender Equality Center.
Rubin also presented the result of the CHR’s National Inquiry Report, which found policy barriers including criminalization through ordinances by some local government units of women who give birth at home and of traditional birth attendants who facilitate home births that adversely affect the indigenous women and women in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
To prevent this, CHR recommended the amendment of these ordinances, decriminalization and bringing health structures nearer to women.
In 2018, the Filipinos may not be able to buy contraceptives due to the 2015 Supreme Court’s temporary restraining order, halting the distribution of contraceptive implants and prohibiting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant approval for pending applications for registration and/or recertification for reproductive products and supply including contraceptive drugs and devices.
Contrary to the Philippines, Thailand’s growth rate remains low at 0.4% from 3.3% in the last 40 years.
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