Motherhood and faith

Calling for the passage of the reproductive health (RH) bill at the soonest time possible, Sen. Pia Cayetano accused its critics of closing their eyes to the “urgent material need” for such legislation.

“They refuse to lift a finger to help alleviate the condition of Filipino mothers despite the alarming rise in maternal deaths,” said the senator, a sponsor with Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago of the Senate version of the legislation. “It’s high time we ended this vicious cycle where mothers are callously denied access to reproductive health services which is their right and need.”

In her statement issued on World Population Day last Wednesday, Senator Cayetano appealed to everyone to “prioritize the plight and burden of Filipino mothers. They are the ones who risk their life to bear new life, carry the primary burden of ensuring the health, education and welfare of their children, and balance the family’s meager resources to survive from day to day.”

Saying “the situation of our mothers has gone from bad to worse” with rising maternal death statistics, the senator said “any fair-minded legislator [should] support the enactment of the RH bill, which would allow mothers universal access to reproductive health services of the government.”

She also stressed that maternal deaths can be prevented under the RH bill, which seeks to expand access to the following services, especially to those from the poorest households: natural and artificial family planning services to allow mothers to plan and space their pregnancies; prenatal care to ensure the mother’s health and nutrition, and allow for early detection of complications; safe and modern birthing facilities staffed by health professionals to ensure safe deliveries; and postpartum services to monitor and address complications after delivery.

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Among the groups that met at the Family Planning Summit held in London the other day was a constituency “that might surprise some people,” reported David Olson of the Washington Post. The group was made up of “people of faith”—Christians (including Catholics, Protestants and evangelicals), Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and others. “This faith support for family planning ranges from progressive Christians to Catholics and evangelicals,” said Olson.

“Family planning is morally laudable in Christian terms because of its contribution to family wellbeing, women and children’s health, and the prevention of abortion,” said Richard Cizik, president of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good. “Our loving challenge to prolife Christians: Please do not block family planning efforts, globally or domestically, because of your opposition to groups that provide both contraception and abortion. Instead, consider how a deeply prolife moral commitment, focusing on the flourishing of all human beings made in God’s image, actually ought to lead to support for family planning.”

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More than 250 religious leaders and supporting partners—including Muslims, Protestants, Catholics, Buddhists and Hindus—endorsed an Interfaith Declaration to Improve Family Health and Wellbeing in support of family planning, calling on governments and donors to partner with faith-based organizations (FBOs) to help them “bring their faith to action in enabling families to plan the timing and spacing of their pregnancies, consistent with their faith.” The coordination of this declaration, reported Olson, was led by DSW (an international development organization based in Germany), Christian Connections for International Health, and Muhammadiyah (a Muslim social services agency in Indonesia).

This just goes to prove that family planning and religion are not necessarily contradictory, or antagonistic. Being able to dream and plan for one’s family, and being given the means to make that dream and those plans a reality are certainly a help toward self-fulfillment and self-realization. Shouldn’t we all unite behind such a worthwhile goal?

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“A family gathering” was how yesterday’s launch of the Training Center for Gynecologic Endoscopy was described. A small group of doctors, including officers of the Philippine Society for Gynecologic Endoscopy, representatives of Karl Storz, supplier of the endoscopic equipment to be used in the training, and friends gathered at the East Avenue Medical Center for the simple ceremony.

Among those present was Dr. Joseph Kurian, president of the Asia-Pacific Society of Gynecologic Endoscopy, who was also in the country for the local Society’s annual convention. Endoscopy, a minimally invasive procedure that can be used in place of surgery, “will soon be a basic and essential” procedure in medical practice, said Kurian, who hails from India. Indeed, at the close of the launch ceremony, Kurian was to demonstrate endoscopic procedures involving the use of a flexible probe with a camera attached to one end that could be used by the surgeon to guide probes and instruments either to collect samples for testing or perform surgery.

“In the Philippines, endoscopy is still in its infancy,” remarked Dr. Pilar Lagman Dy, chair of the EAMC Ob-Gyn department. One reason for this is the small number of teachers and the “expensive equipment” needed to be used in training, she said.

This may explain why the training center at East Avenue is “the first of its kind” in the country, even though there was a short-lived attempt to establish such a center years ago. Dr. Zaida Gamila, president of the local Society, said setting up the center at East Avenue was a deliberate decision because the government hospital “is a mecca for poor patients” who can all benefit from free or subsidized endoscopy services. “This is a dream come true for Filipino women,” she said.