(SPOT.ph) Former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza said yesterday that the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill is "worse than Martial Law," reports PhilStar.com. According to the report, Atienza claimed that people who will not practice contraception use stand to be jailed from one to six months.
Calling the RH Bill "unconstitutional" and "anti-life," Atienza added that congressmen who support the passage of the bill would expect an extra P10 million, which he calls their "condom development fund," to be added to their pork barrel.
PhilStar.com video: Lito Atienza on the RH Bill
Atienza also mentioned a previous United Nations study which says that 11 women die of childbirth every day in the Philippines. "Let's accept the fact that 11 women die of childbirth. How many die of tuberculosis, hunger, cancer, heart failure, accidents, and even bangungot (nightmares)? People die; we have to accept that. Don't blame'Pag pinasa ba itong batas na ito, wala nang mamamatay na ina? Gano'n ba ang logic? (If we pass the RH Bill, will women no longer die of childbirth? Is that the logic we're using?)"
Instead of focusing on birth control methods, Atienza said hospital facilities should be improved for "child delivery to become as safe as we would want it to be."
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