Catholic Church Opposes New Contraceptive Bill in the Philippines

A controversial bill that provides for the use of condoms and other forms of contraceptives is being opposed by the leaders of the Catholic church in the Philippines because it violates the church ban on the use of contraceptives in family planning.

Leaders of Roman Catholic church in the Philippines are opposing the enactment of a law now pending in congress that promotes contraceptives in family planning. The proposed law authored by Congressman Edcel Lagman provides among others the use of condoms and and other forms of contraceptives at government hospitals. It will also require schools to include sex education on its curriculum. The influential Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is opposing the enactment of the bill into law as it violates the church ban on artificial birth control. Philstar.com reports:

The Rev. Melvin Castro, an officer from the bishops' organization, said the church wants the use of contraceptives removed from the bill and religious values to be incorporated into sex education

Proponents of the bill say that the proposed law is necessary because of the soaring population of the country. The Philippines is now the second most populous nation in South Asia next only to Indonesia with more than 200 million people. The Philippines has 90 million and growing at the rate of around 2 percent annually. Typical family in the Philippines has an average of around five members. With high unemployment rate and low wages, a typical head of the family cannot provide for the family's needs. Lawmakers are saying that health safe contraceptives like condoms can help in family planning and population control. The bill has been approved by the health committee of congress and the proponents are hopeful that the majority of the members of congress will support the bill. In the meantime, leaders of the church are blocking the passage of the bill as they are proposing an alternative bill that is acceptable to the teachings of the Catholic church with regards to the use of contraceptives in family planning.