Reproductive Health Law (RA 10354)

Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law (RA 10354)

• Enacted in 2012, also known as the Reproductive Health Law or RH Law
• Guarantees universal access to contraception, family planning, sex education, and maternal care

Reasons for the Law

• Reduce unwanted and unplanned pregnancies
• Decrease infant mortality rates
• Lower teenage pregnancy rates
• Prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases through sex education
• Provide family planning information to those in need
• Address the rapid population growth in the Philippines

Definition of Reproductive Health (RH)

• A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being related to the reproductive system
• Allows individuals to have a responsible, safe, consensual, and satisfying sex life
• Includes the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide on the timing and frequency
• Promotes equal relationships between women and men in sexual and reproductive matters

Pillars of Reproductive Health

• Informed Choice: Prioritizes effective and quality reproductive healthcare services that are ethically and medically safe, legal, accessible, and affordable; promotes unbiased information and access to these services; integrates reproductive health and sexuality education in schools
• Respect for Life: Recognizes that abortion is illegal and punishable by law; provides post-abortive treatment and counseling in a humane manner
• Birth Control: Makes reproductive healthcare, information, and supplies available to poor beneficiaries; respects citizens' choices of family planning methods
• Responsible Parenthood: Enables couples to determine their ideal family size; equips parents with information on family life and reproductive health

Family Planning

• A means to improve the quality of life for Filipinos
• Enables couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children
• Involves couples deciding when to have children and using responsible means
• Provides access to safe, affordable, non-abortifacient modern and natural methods of pregnancy planning
• Considered a personal matter for the husband and wife to decide based on health, religion, and resources

Responsible Parenthood

• Parents respond to the needs and aspirations of the family and children
• Determine and plan the desired number, spacing, and timing of their children based on health, sociocultural, economic concerns, and religious convictions
• Plan and work to meet the goals of their family
• Involves raising children, supporting their needs financially and morally, teaching them good values, and giving them love and care
• Requires couples to consider the Reason for wanting a child, the Resources needed, and the Responsibilities as parents

Responsibilities of Parents

• Provide physical care
• Inculcating discipline
• Develop social competence
• Encourage learning
• Give opportunities for education and self-development
• Inculcate values
• Provide economic security
• Teach self-discipline and self-control with effective discipline
• Give love and affection
• Teach with a positive attitude

Gender and Development (GAD)

• A development perspective and process that seeks gender equality
• Aims to transform social, economic, and political structures
• Emphasizes the need for women's participation in political processes
• Recognizes that women and men have different development needs and interests

Gender and Development (GAD) Definition

• A participatory and empowering development perspective and process
• Promotes equity, sustainability, and freedom from violence
• Respects human rights and supports self-determination
• Seeks to achieve gender equality as a fundamental value
• Recognizes women as active agents of development

Gender Analysis

• A framework to compare the advantages and disadvantages faced by women and men
• Considers various spheres of life, including family, workplace, school, community, and political system
• Takes into account how factors like class, age, race, ethnicity, and culture interact with gender

Sustainable Development Goals

• Can be achieved by restricting human activities
• Technological development should be input effective and not input utilising
• The rate of consumption should not surpass the rate of salvation.
• For renewable resources, the rate of consumption should not surpass the rate of production of renewable substitutes.
• All types of pollution should be minimised
• Can be achieved by sensible use of natural resources

Examples of Sustainable Development

• Wind energy
• Solar energy
• Crop rotation
• Sustainable construction
• Efficient water fixtures
• Green space
• Sustainable forestry

Environmental Crisis

• Occurs when an environment fails to perform its vital function of life sustenance
• Resource extraction remains below the rate of resource generation
• Generation of waste remains within the absorption capacity of the environment

Reasons for Environmental Crisis

• Population explosion: High growth increases demand for resources, leading to overuse
• Rise in economic activity: Affluent consumption generates wastes beyond the environment's capacity
• Rapid industrialisation: Deforestation and toxic waste accumulation contaminate water bodies
• Urbanisation: Migration to urban areas leads to slum growth and infrastructural strain
• Deforestation: Cutting down trees adversely affects the environment
• Increased use of insecticides, pesticides, and chemical fertilisers: Causes health problems and crop contamination

Other relevant information

• Global warming refers to the gradual but consistent rise in atmospheric temperature.
• Ozone depletion refers to the destruction of the ozone layer due to the presence of chlorine and bromine from man-made CFC
• Land degradation refers to a decline in the quality of soil, water, or vegetation conditions.
• Main goal of sustainable development is to achieve a better and more sustainable future for everyone, it is a collection of 17 SDG’s or Sustainable development goals.
• The three types of sustainable development are economic viability , environmental protection and social equity.