- The Philippines’ Supreme Court approved a controversial birth control law upholding the separation of Church and the State. Under this law:
- government health centres to hand out free condoms and birth control pills
- sex education be mandatorily taught in schools
- public health workers receive family planning training
- post abortion medical care is also legalised.
- This will help cut down poverty, birth rates and transform the lives of people in Phillipines where 14-15 mothers die daily in the Philippines in complications related to child birth.
- This was a stunning defeat to The Catholic Church which counts over 80% of the country’s 100 million population and had led a successful campaign for more than 15 years against any form of family planning laws.
- Although church’s protestors took to the streets, a survey revealed that 84% agreed that the govt should have free family planning, and 72% were in the favour of the law.
- In Dec 2012, Philippine President Benigno Aquino defied church pressure and signed the law but following church groups’ petitions arguing it was unconstitutional, it was suspended by the Supreme Court.
Exams Perspective:
- Family Planning Laws in Philippine
- Sex Education