05.11.06
NFP as contraception, tool for population control
Enraging traitorous commentary from someone who claims to be from the Institute of Church and Social issues… they have shown their true colors, they have sided with the pro-population-control camp, the anti-life.
This was revealed in Diana Jean V. Moraleda’s commentary in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on May 9, 2006 “New kid on the block?” which promoted the fertility awareness technique called the “Two-Day Method”… just another NFP method.
Ms. Moraleda’s contraceptive mentality is revealed when she says:
“One coping mechanism, for example, is for the wife to initiate lovemaking if she knows she is infertile so that it is easier for the couple to abstain from sex when she becomes fertile.”
Unmistakable promotion of C-O-N-T-R-A-C-E-P-T-I-O-N .
Then Ms. Moraleda goes on to promote Feminist garbage:
“This way, NFP also has the ability to empower women.”
For feminists, contraception is a basic tool.
Then Ms. Moraleda goes on to promote the idea of population explosion and NFP for population control… the deliberate, methodical culling of future Filipinos:
“NFP can be very useful in meeting national goals as well. The Philippines aims to lower its annual population growth rate of 2.11 percent for the period 2000 to 2005 to 1.9 percent in 2010. This would mean that the current contraceptive prevalence rate of 49 percent should incrase up to 53 percent in the next five years. For 35 years, the US Agency for International Aid (USAID) had been consistently donating contraceptives in the Philippines. However, due to their withdrawal of support for the Family Planning Program’s contraceptive procurement, it will nearly be impossible for the government to provide free contraceptives to the people, given the tight national budget. NFP is another means to help the government meet its targets.”
I have brought this matter to the attention of the Pro-life movement leaders. This is an outrage. They may be “church” people, but they are definitely Anti-Life.
Source of full article:
http://news.inq7.net/opinion/index.php?index=2&story_id=75165&col=75
I have reposted this important article here just in case the link above goes dead.
New kid on the block?
First posted 02:28am (Mla time) May 09, 2006
By Enrique Fernandez
Inquirer
Authored by Diana Jean V. Moraleda, Institute oon Church and Social Issues
SOMETHING new has been cooking in the population and development kitchen. On Feb. 28, 2006, the Institute for Reproductive Health of Georgetown University and its Philippine counterpart launched the Two-day Method at the Asian Institute of Management Conference Center. The Two-day Method is a natural family planning (NFP) method that helps the woman to determine her fertile and infertile periods.
The procedure is quite simple: A woman checks every day for the presence of cervical secretions. If a woman notices any secretions today or yesterday, she considers herself fertile today and avoids intercourse today. More simply put, if a woman had two consecutive days without secretions, her probability of becoming pregnant is very low, thus the name Two-day.
Fertility awareness-based methods of family planning have been available for many years but never had something like this sounded so easy to do. The Two-day Method does not require the woman to use a thermometer like the Basal Body Temperature Method, or charts like the Billings Ovulation Method, or even beads like the Standard Days Method. What’s more, women with menstrual cycles of any length can use the method.
The Two-day Method has the same advantages as other natural family planning methods. There are no health related side effects associated with its use, it can be used to avoid or achieve pregnancy, it has no cost and promotes male partner involvement in family planning, among others.
It almost sounds as easy as popping a pill provided, however, that the woman has normal cervical secretions, meaning she is not currently taking medications (e.g., the pill) that cause abnormal secretions, that she is actually willing to check for secretions, and that the couple can avoid intercourse for several consecutive days each cycle.
And there lies the rub. Through experience, community-based NFP service providers sense that people do get turned off by having to abstain for up to 12 consecutive days. Many women express concern that their husbands have the upper hand when deciding to have intercourse. There are cases where wives are physically abused when they do not submit to the wishes of drunken husbands. For as long as such situations persist, no method which requires the husband’s cooperation is practical.
However, some couples who are more open to use NFP do attest that it really enhances self-discipline, mutual respect, cooperation, communication and shared responsibility. One coping mechanism, for example, is for the wife to initiate lovemaking if she knows she is infertile so that it is easier for the couple to abstain from sex when she becomes fertile. This way, NFP also has the ability to empower women. More and more, wives are becoming partners in making decisions not only for the couple but also for the whole family.
NFP can be very useful in meeting national goals as well. The Philippines aims to lower its annual population growth rate of 2.11 percent for the period 2000 to 2005 to 1.9 percent in 2010. This would mean that the current contraceptive prevalence rate of 49 percent should increase up to 53 percent in the next five years. For 35 years, the US Agency for International Aid (USAID) had been consistently donating contraceptives in the Philippines. However, due to their withdrawal of support for the Family Planning Program’s contraceptive procurement, it will nearly be impossible for the government to provide free contraceptives to the people, given the tight national budget. NFP is another means to help the government meet its targets.
Parish and community-based NFP programs are ongoing in communities within Payatas, Tondo, Ipil, Zamboanga and Imus, Cavite, among others. These programs are educating thousands especially the poor, who make up most of the 51.1 percent of married women who do not use any family planning method. Teaching NFP works only if it is taught directly to communities where couples, especially the mothers, can take one to two hours off their daily tasks and participate in training held within the neighborhood and if parish and community volunteers take time to follow up until the participants become autonomous users, that is, they have the ability to practice the method correctly.
Despite the scientifically proven effectiveness of modern natural family planning methods, not more than 15.1 percent of married Filipino women know about these. Worse, only 0.3 percent actually practices modern NFP. These figures show that not only is there a wide ignorance of modern NFP methods, there is also a prevalent opinion that NFP is not as convenient and effective, which accounts for the low percentage of NFP use among those who already know.
The challenge, therefore, is to involve as many parishes and communities as possible in promoting NFP by setting up programs of their own. Institutions like Pro-life Philippines, Institute for Reproductive Health-Philippines and Institute on Church and Social Issues can help by providing technical assistance to start-up groups.
Alongside efforts to promote the use of existing NFP methods, there are also moves to disprove the myth that NFP is ineffective and to increase NFP’s acceptability.
The Two-day Method may be the new kid on the NFP block but it promises to be more appealing to the public. Its efficacy rate of 96.5 percent is comparable to other natural and unnatural family planning methods. Of the 450 women who participated in the efficacy study conducted in five different sites in Guatemala, Peru and the Philippines, 96.1 percent gave positive comments. Almost 94 percent of participants thought that their partner liked the method. It might not take long before the Two-day Method is also taught in urban and rural poor communities.
Each natural family planning method has its strengths and weaknesses and it is up to the couples to decide which fits their needs. The Two-day Method succeeds in providing another option for couples who seek simple, accurate and inexpensive ways to plan their families. It undeniably is a welcome addition to the menu of the family planning cafeteria.
