|
 |
| |
|
| |
Pro-family group urges: Stop population control bills
|
|
The Alliance for the Family Foundation Philippines Inc. (ALFI) has suggested that legislators discontinue attempts to impose government intervention to reduce population growth, citing statistics from the United Nations (UN) that show the country’s fertility rate (TFR) dropping to near-replacement levels within the next decade.
|
Under UN projections, while today’s TFR is 2.93, or about three births per woman, by 2010-2015, the Philippines’ TFR is projected to be 2.05. To replace a country’s population, the TFR should be at 2.1 births per woman.
In a forum organized by ALFI on November 20, guest speakers Jose Sandejas of the Asia-Pacific Demographic Foundation and Manny Arejola of the Kalipunan ng mga Kapatiran ng Pamilyang Pilipino raised the alarm that if legislators push population control bills now pending in Congress, the country’s decreasing birth rate could cause a worrisome burden on the next generation of Filipinos.
They cited the experience in two-thirds of all countries worldwide that are now facing demographic collapse, owing to fertility rates below 2.0, caused by population control policies set up 30 years ago.
The countries that are about to shrink include Italy, Spain, Germany, Eastern Europe, Japan, and China. In Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea, society’s reluctance to propagate has caused governments to resort to financial incentives.
Arejola also said that fears of a population crisis are being sown through misinformation and erroneous data so that people would eventually accept fertility control, homosexual unions, euthanasia, divorce, sex education devoid of values, and abortion.
He said the erosion of values cannot be reversed once government supports the agenda of anti-population advocates.
ALFI’s guest, Dr. Patricia Alvia, explained the adverse consequences of artificial contraceptives, not only on the woman using them, but also on the viability of her unborn child.
Alvia stressed that since life begins at conception, all contraceptives and birth control methods, including the IUD (intrauterine device), the pill, and injectables, have an abortifacient effect because they make the uterus hostile to life.
She said recent studies also show a strong link between the pill and breast cancer.
At Saturday’s forum, Sandejas also pointed out conflicting data on population figures. He said the National Statistics Office cites a population growth rate of 2.36 percent but the UN said it is 1.6 percent.
He also raised concerns about the NSO’s methodology in calculating this figure. He said the alternatives to population control include more technical skills and better education for the disadvantaged, recognizing that "the human being is the ultimate resource."
|
|
|
