YOUNG VOICE
Sheep intestines
In the 17th century, Charles II had a problem with his growing number of probable heirs to his throne. Unable to find a solution, he called for his physician Dr. Condom and asked him to prevent their increase. It is still uncertain if it were fairy godmother's magic or the sparkle from Cinderella's glass slippers that led Dr. Condom to discover that the intestines of lambs can prevent the excited wriggling sperms from infiltrating a woman's vagina. From then on, condoms were mass produced in this libido-oriented society, not any more from sheep's guts but using vulcanized rubber and such are available in all leading drugstores. Interesting as the story may appear, condoms are still contraceptives. Condoms prevent the birth of unwanted children. Condoms are still inhibitory tools for fertility that have jeopardized not only a sheep's digestive system but also the very foundations of human morality.
Some say that our country is growing more crowded each day. Counting all those mouths to feed during a never ceasing economic crisis, they believe we couldn't get any more populated. I may not be a virtuoso in demographics, but this little head of mine tells me that our country is not overpopulated. As I understand, we have to consider not just the number of people in that place but also the land area. We have 300,000 square kilometers of land to spare and realistically speaking, it is more than enough for some eighty plus million Filipinos. The problem is that not all of this 300,000 sq. km of land is habituated by people causing visible congestion in the urban areas of our country. I am not proposing we force every citizen to live in equal proportions of land that would be too ideal. But, I am stressing the point that we are certainly not overpopulated, so why prevent innocent lives from being born in the Philippines?
Most of our government leaders say that our resources are too deficient to satisfy the population. Life's tough, I know. But, why decrease the recipients of these resources. Can we not find ways to increase the resources? This notion of preventing fertility tells an agitated seventeen-year old, who has just seen a condom once in her life, to believe that resources are far more important than the lives of the people who are supposed to receive them. But still, many support the Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2007. According to this bill, contraceptives shall be used as essential medicines being totally accessible with the belief of improving the quality of life of families. The lesser mouths to feed, the lesser the problem. This statement is certainly true and logical but this doesn't give us the right to prevent the existence of life and most importantly endanger our moral values.
Those who are pro to contraception would say that premarital pregnancies among unwed couples will eventually decrease due to accessibility to birth control pills, condoms, IUDs and diaphragms. Yes, it may indeed lessen premarital pregnancies but will it solve the case of premarital sex? Because of the assurance of being spared from the responsibility of bearing children, unwed couples would be more enticed to have sex freely. The moral sanctity of sex, being a tool for procreation and a gift exclusive for legally wed couples has been diminished by some sheep's intestine. However great and splendid the economic consequences of enforcing contraceptive usage may be, it doesn't justify the life of innocent beings and loosing grip of the very foundations of morality. This is more than just following religious rules and commandments. I don't want to bring in religion as I may be biased to others' beliefs. Rather, this is a moral issue that deals with a universal truth and decorum that life and its procreation is very precious and should be given high regard. Everyone knows that killing an innocent life, or to the very least preventing an innocent life from taking place is unfair and unjust to such minute and helpless being.
Look at Singapore, its population density is 7,093 people living in a span of one sq. km. Look at the Philippines; our population density is 289 people per sq. km. We have a lesser population density than Singapore, but the economic progress of Singapore is by far exemplary. This only shows that population has little effect on the economic status of a country. The distribution of resources needs to be taken care of, not the people receiving them. Food can still be bought even after it spoils but lives can never be revived after they cease or wasn't even given a chance to exist.
Let us be more practical and moral about our decisions. Life is not a matter of control; it is given as a gift. You might not know the innocent baby who was prevented to be born could have been the deliverer of the struggling nation.
Morality is far more important than sheep intestines.
Save Lives.
(For comments and reactions please send an email to reylangarcia@gmail.com or an SMS to 09186363090. View my blog at http://www.theyoungvoice.blogspot.com)