HOUSE TO CONDUCT HEARINGS TO DEFINE BEGINNING OF HUMAN LIFE
MANILA, OCTOBER 10, 2010 (STAR) By Paolo Romero - The House of Representatives is set to conduct hearings to define the beginning of human life, which could help resolve the long and acrimonious debate over the pending Reproductive Health (RH) Bill in Congress, particularly on the issue of abortifacients.
The contentious issue has prompted Bacolod City Rep. Anthony Golez to file House Resolution 509, calling on the committee on health to conduct an inquiry "to answer the question when does human life begin."
Golez, a doctor, said a majority of medical practitioners believe that life begins at the moment of fertilization or conception, although there is also a school of thought that states that life begins upon implantation in the uterus.
"The country is divided on the definition of when life begins, either during fertilization or implantation period. If the country is divided as to the definition of when life begins, then it is to be presumed that the choices used for fertility are not yet certain whether they are lawful or unlawful as provided for by our Constitution as to the protection of life from moment of conception," he said.
Golez said it is the prime duty of the state to recognize the sanctity of life and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution.
"The state shall equally protect the life of the mother and the unborn from conception," he said, quoting the Constitution.
He added that it is also the duty of the state to determine and provide adequate understanding of the basic principle of life and its beginning, as well as to defend the right of couples to establish a family in accordance with their religious convictions and the demands of responsible parenthood.
Golez noted that the Department of Health's (DOH) responsible parenthood and natural family planning programs are based on four pillars, which are responsible parenthood, birth spacing, respect for life, and informed choice.
The government's approved national family planning methods are the calendar method, withdrawal, and personal control or abstinence.
"The services offered by the DOH or artificial methods are condoms, IUD, oral pills, injectibles, and other methods," he said.
He said some sectors view some artificial methods like IUD, oral contraceptives and injectibles as abortifacients or inducing abortion because life for them begins at fertilization.
Golez, however, said there are artificial methods that do not kill life as they prevent fertilization, such as condoms and vasectomy for men or tubal ligation for women.
He said the Mosby's Medical Dictionary, MedTerm TM Medical Dictionary and the Webster's New World Medical Dictionary defines the stage of fertilization as the "process of combining the male gamete or sperm with the female gamete or ovum. The product of this combination is a cell called a zygote."
The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine (1989) and the Dictionary of Genetics, 6th edition, said implantation refers to the attachment of the blastocyst to the epithelial lining of the uterus, its penetration through the epithelium and in humans its embedding in the compact layer of the endometrium, beginning six or seven days after fertilization of the ovum.
RELATED NEWS FROM THE TELEGRAPH (UK) By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor Published: 7:30AM BST 08 Oct 2010 <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/> Click LIFESTYLE section
Limit families to two children to save the planet: doctor
Couples should not have more than two children for the sake of the planet, a leading expert argues.
Latest figures show that in 2009 the average number of children per woman was just under two Photo: ALAMY Professor John Guillebaud will tell a conference of GPs that a non-rigid guideline should be introduced in Britain that says 'a two child maximum is the greatest contribution anyone can make to a habitable planet for our grandchildren'.
GPs should encourage patients not to have more than two children when they are offering family planning and contraceptive advice, he will say today at Royal College of General Practitioners annual conference in Harrogate.
Related Articles What is the ideal number of children to have? Average number of children falls Migrants push birth rate to highest in decades Limits on doctors working hours 'could make giving birth more risky' Wengen: piste guide More than two million British children risk falling victim to internet sex predatorsProfessor Guillebaud, Emeritus Professor of Reproductive Health and Family Planning, at University College London, is due to present a paper entitled Sex and the world population 'youthquake' – a sustainable future?
The birth rate has been rising for a number of years in Britain and there are around 790,000 babies born a year.
The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show that in 2009 the average number of children per woman was just under two. This is mostly because larger families are balanced out by a growing number of women choosing not to have children.
Professor Guillebaud told the Daily Telegraph: "The world is experiencing a 'youthquake'. In Uganda where I went to my first school, 49 per cent of the population is under 15.
"In the UK our teenage pregnancy rate remains the worst in Europe.
"GPs rightly play a significant role in preventing unplanned pregnancies, especially among young people, but what about planned pregnancies?
"Without censoring those who through ignorance of these issues had larger families in the past, shouldn't we now promote a non-rigid guideline to UK couples that a two child maximum is the greatest contribution anyone can make to a habitable planet for our grandchildren?"
Two children per couple would ensure the population remained stable while three children each having three children leads to nine children.
Larger families, need larger cars and houses, as well as consuming more global resources overall, Prof Guillebaud said.
He added that he does not want to see a rigid regime introduced as in China in the 1980s nor force abortions or stigmatise unplanned pregnancies when contraception fails as no method is completely 100 per effective.
Prof Guillebaud said: "If you remove the barriers and there is readily available contraception most women choose to have two children or fewer. I reject the Chinese way of coercion, if you give women the choices they generally choose a small family."
Professor Steve Field, Chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said: "This is a really important issue; the rapid increase of world population will undoubtedly have an impact on the wider environment.
"This is just the sort of ethical issue that members of the Royal College of General Practitioners are able to debate at our conference."
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PRO-LIFE, PRO-CHOICE ARGUMENTS:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/arguments-for-pro-choice-abortions.html
Abortion - pro choice or pro life? This is a debate that never seems to come to an end. While a pro choice stance supports giving a woman the legal right to take decisions regarding her fertility, pro life opposes such an action saying that carrying out an abortion is violating the sanctity of life. In this article let us see what are the arguments for pro choice abortions...
What does pro choice mean? It refers to the freedom that an individual has to decide one's course of life with respect and support from others. It is the responsibility that one has towards one's own life and the right to decide which course one's life should take. Then should pro choice abortions be read as pro abortion? Let's see what does abortion - pro choice and pro life mean.
Abortion has been a controversial topic for a long time. Even after the Supreme Court legalized abortion in the United States in 1973, the controversy still rages on. In older times, individuals who opposed abortion were said to be anti-abortion and those who supported them were called pro abortion. However, in more recent times, as the debate further heated up, those against abortion used the term pro life and those who supported abortion used the term pro choice to represent themselves.
Abortion: Pro Life Arguments
Life is precious. It is an amazing phenomenon that has made this planet one-of-its-kind in the entire galaxy (at least so far as our knowledge goes at present). Abortion is strongly criticized by those with strong religious beliefs as they believe that life is a blessing from God. Any attempt to destroy or modify a life is seen as meddling with the powers of the Almighty.
Advocates of pro life arguments strengthen their anti-abortion arguments by saying that life begins at conception itself. Hence abortion is tantamount to homicide. Pro life advocates also give forth the argument that the widespread acceptance of abortion may help it to be used as a form of contraception. They also point to the medical complications and post abortion syndrome associated with an abortion. According to them, women who demand complete control of their body should also shoulder the responsibility of preventing unwanted pregnancy. Be the conception be a result of unplanned pregnancy, rape or incest, aborting the embryo is equivalent to punishing the unborn child for no fault of his, which is not right.
Abortion: Pro Choice Arguments
Pro choice (abortions) refer to the political and ethical view that a woman should have complete right over her fertility and that she should have the freedom to decide whether she wants to continue or terminate her pregnancy.
The pro choice movement entails to guarantee a woman her reproductive rights. Those who are pro choice give the following arguments in support of abortion:
•Control over her body and the freedom to decide the course of her life is critical to a woman's civil rights. When a woman is pregnant it is her body that goes through all the stress of pregnancy. If she decides not to have a pregnancy she should be able to do so. Denying her the right to her body is violating her most basic freedom.
•One of the most pertinent questions regarding abortion is when does life begin. A fetus may be alive but so are sperms and eggs. Its true that life in every form should be respected. However, should the right of a fetus be greater than that of a woman who in majority of the cases would bear the responsibility of the unplanned child?
•One of the important abortion facts is that most of the abortions take place in the first trimester when the fetus cannot live independent of the mother. It depends on the mother through the placenta and the umbilical cord for nutrition and health and hence should not be considered a separate entity.
•A lot of care and precautions are taken while carrying out an abortion. Most of the abortions are done during the first trimester when abortions are most safe. As a result, abortions pose only 0.5% risk for the woman to develop serious complications. This certainly does not affect women's health gravely or their ability to conceive in future.
•Unwanted teenage pregnancy can have serious complications if the pregnancy is continued. An adolescent is neither mentally nor physically ready to continue a pregnancy. Besides health related complications, a minor mother isn't psychologically ready to handle the responsibilities of a child. With a life to support, many such girls drop out of school and start working in order to fend for the child. This certainly spells a bleak future for such girls.
•While some believe that life begins at conception, there are others that do not believe in this. There are different theories regarding when life begins. Unless every one can be made to agree to the one point when life begins, laws prohibiting abortion would be forcing one theory on all.
•Making abortion illegal does not stop unwanted pregnancies from taking place. In case abortion is made illegal, many women may get it done from unauthorized entities. This would pose a greater threat to their life and health.
•For those who fear that abortion might be used as a contraceptive, there is no reason to panic. Studies have shown that as few as 8% of the women who undergo abortion did not use contraceptives.
•One of the important pro choice reasons is that rape or incest is traumatic for a woman. Forcing her to bear the added responsibility of the child she conceived through the unfortunate act would only add to her mental stress.
Despite all the support for abortion, one of the important pro choice facts is that those who raise pro choice issues to strengthen their cause are not pro abortion. They take the right to as a woman's freedom to her body and life.
However, we must remember that abortion should not cloud the sanctity of life. It is important to bear in mind the pros and cons of abortions before taking any decisions regarding one's pregnancy.
Pregnancy is not just about continuing a life inside the womb. With life comes the responsibility of providing it with all the rights and comforts that it is entitled to.
While the debate between abortion - pro choice vs pro life continues, it depends on us that we act responsibly while we deal with creating a life so that we do not find ourselves time and again standing on the crossroads, having to decide whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy. By Debopriya Bose
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