Opposition against teen pregnancy bill snowballing

Clamor continued to mount on Sunday for the recall of the proposed law seeking to prevent teen pregnancy in light of concerns that providing adolescents full access to reproductive health services would undermine parental authority, bypassing the Family Code.

House Bill 8910, or the proposed “Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Act,” provides full and comprehensive information to minors to ward off early and unintended pregnancy by giving them, among other things, access to reproductive health information and services “without the need of consent from a parent or guardian.”

The bill aims to institutionalize Comprehensive Adolescent Sexuality Education (CASE), which shall be implemented in schools at all levels, normalizing discussion about sex and gender.

The House of Representatives passed the measure as early as September 2023, while its counterpart measure in the Senate awaits deliberation on second reading.

Cibac Rep. Eddie Villanueva, an evangelist and pro-life advocate, argued that the House-approved measure does not comply with constitutional standards and should thus be returned to the committee level for further scrutiny.

“The bill contradicts the Biblical principle and Constitutional mandate of giving parents the natural and primary duty to rear their children. It also betrays the Constitutional policy of the state’s responsibility to promote and protect the physical, moral, and spiritual well-being of the youth,” Villanueva said.

Villanueva contended the bill would serve as an entry point for the import of foreign ideologies that violate the Constitution as well as the God- and family-centered values of Filipinos.

“In particular, HB 8910 will pave the way for the adoption of a curriculum prescribed by international standards, which introduces inappropriate sexuality education concepts such as masturbation, oral sex, and anal sex into the curriculum of basic education students as early as six years old,” he averred.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chairperson of the House committee on constitutional amendments, made a similar call on Saturday, asserting that the bill has to undergo thorough evaluation since some of its provisions were not in accordance with the Constitution and family laws.

‘Unconstitutional’

One provision of the bill states that if the minor’s parent or guardian refuses to give consent for the minor to access health services, the minor can obtain them from a duly licensed and trained health service provider.

“These provisions are clear violations of the Constitution,” Rodriguez stressed.

The seasoned lawmaker also called the bill “very deceptive” by institutionalizing CASE, while the title itself stipulates that it is mainly about the prevention of adolescent pregnancies, in violation of Article VI, Section 26, Paragraph (1) of the Constitution. (Corrected Article number from IV to VI)

The petition follows the recent hearing of the House Committee on Basic Education, during which it questioned the Department of Education for implementing Comprehensive Sexuality Education as early as kindergarten.

DepEd’s Assistant Secretary Jerome Buenviaje explained that minors must first grasp basic concepts like human anatomy and human development at an early age to completely understand the sensitive topic of reproductive health.

The National Coalition for the Family and the Constitution (NCFC) also expressed alarm about the CSE’s discussions about gender fluidity and sexual diversity, as well as contraception, abortion and non-traditional relationships, asserting that it “undermines the innocence of children” and “strips away parental rights.”

The NCFC criticized the program’s emphasis on sexual rights, which could be “interpreted as encouraging early sexual activity,” threatening the “moral, societal, and spiritual values” of Filipinos.

While the bill has met strong opposition from some conservative groups and legislators, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has already registered his support for the measure, citing the rise in teenage pregnancy cases.