Gabriela Solon Urges Church to Take a Look at Pro-Poor RH Provisions, Participate in Sober Debates

“I am hopeful that in the course of plenary debates, critics of the Reproductive Health Bill will see what this legislation espouses for women and their families from the poorest sectors of the society.”

Thus said Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Luz Ilagan today as plenary debates on the Reproductive Health Bill is expected to go into full swing sponsorship speeches were delivered in the previous sessions.

Ilagan, who is among the authors of the RH Bill said that several pro-poor provisions coming from the Comprehensive Reproductive Health Bill filed by Gabriela Women’s Party were actually carried over to HB4244 or the Consolidated RH Bill.

“HB 4244 contains provisions which allow poor women to access not just contraceptives but more importantly, healthcare services including treatment for cervical and ovarian cancers as well as infertility. It allows women workers paid one day leaves for every month of their pregnancy to ensure pre-natal check-ups. The RH Bill likewise hopes to make healthcare services appropriate for persons with disabilities,” Ilagan explained.

According to Ilagan, there are several other provisions in the RH Bill that would be agreeable to a Catholic leadership with a preferential bias for the poor.

“Instead of demonizing legislators and proponents of the RH Bill, I hope that leaders of the Catholic Church will keep an open mind, participate actively in sober debates and help us craft a law that, in the midst of high prices and low wages, will somehow give relief to poor women and their families by giving them much needed access to healthcare.”#