MANILA, September 24, 2002 (LSN.ca) – A pro-abortion piece of legislation in the Philippines, which only two weeks ago was touted as having the support of half of the country’s congress, is reportedly in trouble thanks to outspoken opposition by the Catholic Church. The Philippine Inquirer reports today that two of the co-sponsors of the Reproductive Health Care Act (House Bill 4110) have withdrawn their sponsorship and the author of a parallel Senate bill is having difficulty finding co-sponsors. A forum intended to launch the legislation in Baguio City was attended by only one public official who said her colleagues shied away from the photo opportunity because of the church opposition. Pro-abortion NGO’s behind the legislation were furious with the setback. Eden Divinagracia, executive director of the Philippine NGO Council on Population, Health and Welfare (PNGOC) and co-chairperson of the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN) said the politicians were all afraid of the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church in the Philippines was not swayed by the neutral sounding rhetoric of the bill in which abortion is subsumed as part of reproductive health service. The Church denounced the bill as “anti-marriage, anti-family and anti-life.”
See the report from the Inquirer: https://www.inq7.net/brk/2002/sep/24/brkpol_3-1.htm See related LifeSite coverage: PHILIPPINES WAVERS ON ABORTION AS HALF OF CONGRESS READY TO SUPPORT IT https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/sep/02090904.html