Went to congress with my officemates and some mommies to support pro-life in the deliberations of the RH Bill. This is actually my first time to attend something like this, and my friend Sunnyday said when you show up in support for the pro-life cause it gives our pro-life congressmen reason to keep speaking up! Learned some things about, um, plenary hall decorum during a session. (A friend I met that day explained to me that the real grind happens in committee meetings, and interpellations are simply, for lack of better way to describe it, just for show.) EDIT: Please see Sunnyday's enlightening comment below. haha I'm not exactly knowledgeable in this matter.
Aside from the educational agenda, we thought of coming to represent pro-life so that we could have photo-ops with the young moms. The bill, in fact, affects them the most--who should decide how they should manage their family? The State shouldn't be telling them how many kids to have, or that they're not being responsible when they're not sticking alien stuff in their body... so we invited young moms who are against the bill to stand up for what they believe in. Now you see that not all who are against the bill are celibate priests and nuns, a totally unfair assumption if you ask me.
We wanted to hold some placards with pro-life messages on them but that wasn't allowed in the plenary hall. Hopefully someday we could have some t-shirts with witty slogans! hehe. Here are some of the pictures I took that day. :-D
11 comments:
Not really "just for show" -- I think what Mariel meant was that once a proposed bill reaches plenary, it's somewhat like a formality in that it becomes difficult to change lawmakers' minds at this stage (difficult but not impossible, might I add). That's why all the crucial work should be done at the committee level, before the bill even reaches plenary. A lot of people fighting for life-affirming principles and measures have been doing that, but as you probably know, in one committee hearing, the process was "railroaded" and these resource persons were deprived of the chance to speak. It's on record, by the way.
But what a delight it is to see these moms showing up to stand up for life and family and to lend support to our pro-life lawmakers!! Go, go, go!!!! :-)
I sure would like to go back and get a closer look of that black and white wall bearing snippets of our country's history. Too bad the lighting couldn't show the details.
oh yeah i remember Mariel correcting someone on that...thanks for explaining it! As you know I'm not familiar with these things! :D
I hope they do this fairly. Honestly if truth is the prime focus we all know which side is the right one...and am not just being biased against the bill here. We're talking about life and family.
Good. One of these days you might catch the fireworks.
It may be difficult to change lawmakers' minds but some sessions will expose their silliness and deceit. It was exposed by Golez in one of the sessions that Lagman is using outdated data to twist the issue. Manny pointed out the link to me. Check it out here
Lagman's RH group is deceitful
Thanks for the link, WillyJ! I'm just wondering how data on maternal mortality (even data showing high rates) justifies the need for contraceptives. Doesn't it just say we need better prenatal care?
N,
Exactly! I don't see the connection either. We are all for augmenting prenatal, delivery, and postnatal health services especially in the rural and depressed communities. The problem here, as Kit Tatad always emphasizes, is that they want to categorize contraceptives as "essential medicines" when pregnancy is not a disease. As essential medicines, they can justify millions in taxpayers' money subsidizing contraceptives.
Glad to see you're participating in legislation. I consider your act of "lobbying" (the very good and patient kind) as a form of citizen participation. I hope more people participate in the deliberation of issues in our country no matter what side of the debate they are on.
If we ourselves are not interested in processes of legislation and governance, what more can we expect of those who "represent" us.
:)
hello tj! thanks for dropping by! :D learned so much attending that session. I just wonder why some of the legislators weren't listening when there were people speaking. But i guess it's bec it's not the committee hearing.
Yes, allocating more resources for prenatal care, childbirth services and post-natal care is what is needed to address cases of maternal mortality. In the rural areas especially, pregnant women hardly go for pre-natal consultations because the trip to the nearest clinic or hospital would cost them money that they don't have. Addressing this need should be made top priority as well.
Also, facilities, equipment and supplies, and medicines for childbirth and post-delivery care -- ito ang mga dapat pagkagastusan.
Besides, pregnancy is not a disease, as Kit Tatad has said. Ang mga essential medicines at talagang kulang sa mga health centers ay mga gamot pang-treat ng sipon, ubo, lagnat (many of them pulmonary conditions, come to think of it).
You know what would be a good idea? Alongside the availability of those manufactured essential drugs for common illnesses, people will be taught the basics of home remedies :-) Colds, cough and the like could be prevented in the first place! Or at least treated with natural substances that can easily be found in one's backyard. And it's free.
cool, Petrufied, you actually have an advocacy... :D this one's particularly well-fought on both sides, though...
what did the mommies with you say?
Post a Comment