When Catholic Dogma Breaks Line

(published The Manila Times, September 19, 2002)

It is dangerous when key people in the government are beholden to the Catholic Church and use their positions to turn their personal beliefs into policy. The head of state herself, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA), seemingly feels indebted to the Catholic Church after being catapulted to the presidency during the EDSA II revolution.

She has forgotten that many events that preceded the EDSA II revolution were led and carried out by political activists, women’s groups, and the common tao. Perhaps GMA thinks that the celebration of masses at the end of the EDSA II sums up all the efforts of the common tao.

GMA’s sense of indebtedness to the Catholic Church can be seen from her pledge early in her presidency to follow the Catholic teaching on "natural family planning." Soon after, she retracted her statement and said that she would respect the decision of each couple on matters of family planning. But despite her retraction, her administration has been known to publicly support and use government funds for promoting "natural family planning."

The Catholic Church’s influence was also apparent in the decision of the Bureau of Food and Drug Administration, with the approval of the Department of Health secretary under GMA’s administration, to prohibit the use of Postinor, a brand of emergency contraception (EC).

Postinor was previously allowed in the Philippines to be used by rape and incest victims to prevent pregnancy. The prohibition of Postinor was issued by the BFAD on the grounds that it has abortifacient effects, despite the World Health Organization’s endorsement of EC as a proven, safe and effective method of modern contraception.

Similarly, the city mayors of Manila and Puerto Princesa have been known to impose their religious beliefs on their constituents, the former by discouraging access to contraceptive services and information and the latter by banning these services altogether. By denying access to modern contraceptives and forcing women to use the less reliable "natural family planning" method, these policies lead to more unwanted pregnancies, many of which end in abortion.

The separation of church and state is also undermined when our legislators refrain from needed law reform because of their religious views. The Penal Code’s criminalization of abortion is a classic example of the entrenchment of Catholic dogma in our laws. The abortion ban, one of the vestiges of Spanish colonization in the Philippines, was lifted directly from the old Spanish Penal Code. It is ironic that Spain, from which we inherited the Catholic religion and this particular criminal provision, has already made abortion legal under certain conditions. Indeed, staunchly Catholic Italy permits abortion on even broader grounds.

Our parliament fails to recognize that it is putting women’s lives and health at risk. It fails to recognize that abortion is a reality, and that women die and suffer lifelong disabilities from abortion complications because of lack of access to safe and legal abortion services. Claiming to be concerned about heightened promiscuity, our parliament ignores the reality that it is mainly married women with three or more children who are obtaining abortions

When Catholic dogma makes its way into government policies, the very essence of the separation of church and state is eroded. The delineation between Church and state is broken and rights of individuals are infringed. The moralist Catholic view, which is focused on the implications of "conception," ignores a social context in which men think they can have sexual access to women whenever they choose. Rape (including marital rape), incest, and domestic violence remain prevalent, leading to unwanted pregnancies. The truth is that many women who want to practice contraception are unable to because of their male partners’ refusal.

When will government officials face the truth and respect the line between church and state?--Clara Rita A. Padilla