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EU Intrudes in Internal Philippines “Reproductive Health” Law Debate |
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Critics say the head of the delegation of the European Commission in the Philippines, Ambassador Alistair MacDonald, has intervened in a contentious legislative debate in that nation, pushing lawmakers to enact a controversial “reproductive health” bill by linking increased foreign aid to its passage.
Speaking at a forum sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to promote the so-called Reproductive Health Care Act of 2008 in Manila earlier this month, MacDonald chided Filipino legislators for not passing the bill, calling the “provision of effective and accessible” so-called reproductive health services “a responsibility of the State towards the people of the Philippines”.
At the meeting, Australia’s Agency for International Development and Spain’s Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional also called for passage of the bill. News reports say MacDonald noted that 60 percent of European Union (EU) aid is already channelled to “reproductive health” programmes. He hoped to link increased direct aid at the provincial level to increased use of contraceptives, rewarding those provinces that most effectively promoted contraception.
MacDonald denied he was linking passage of the bill to funding, asserting that passage simply “would help secure that the health care funds would be spent for the welfare of those who need the health care the most”. His actions have rankled some Filipino critics, who consider them an unwarranted intrusion in the legislative affairs of a sovereign nation.
EU officials have in the past denied that it is EU policy to promote abortion under the framework of “reproductive health”. In order to enter into effect, the “reproductive health” bill must pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate, then be signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. C-fam.
Speaking at a forum sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to promote the so-called Reproductive Health Care Act of 2008 in Manila earlier this month, MacDonald chided Filipino legislators for not passing the bill, calling the “provision of effective and accessible” so-called reproductive health services “a responsibility of the State towards the people of the Philippines”.
At the meeting, Australia’s Agency for International Development and Spain’s Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional also called for passage of the bill. News reports say MacDonald noted that 60 percent of European Union (EU) aid is already channelled to “reproductive health” programmes. He hoped to link increased direct aid at the provincial level to increased use of contraceptives, rewarding those provinces that most effectively promoted contraception.
MacDonald denied he was linking passage of the bill to funding, asserting that passage simply “would help secure that the health care funds would be spent for the welfare of those who need the health care the most”. His actions have rankled some Filipino critics, who consider them an unwarranted intrusion in the legislative affairs of a sovereign nation.
EU officials have in the past denied that it is EU policy to promote abortion under the framework of “reproductive health”. In order to enter into effect, the “reproductive health” bill must pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate, then be signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. C-fam.
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