Rising teenage pregnancies

By: Modesto P. Sa-onoy

A report by the Regional office of the Manila Commission on Population says there is a rising incidence in teenage pregnancies. “Every day, it is estimated that there are 500 cases of teenage pregnancies or around 200,000 a year.”

It also claimed that one in three individuals aged 19 years and below are sexually active and “of those active, 78 percent are not even using protection” to prevent pregnancy.

There were earlier reports of the rise in young girls’ pregnancies and in fact this situation was cited by the proponents of contraception and even abortion, to pass the controversial Reproductive Health Bill. With funding from the US-based Responsible Parenthood groups, the campaign to get women to enjoy sexual adventures without fear of pregnancy got into the Philippines. The locals likewise fueled by a desire for free sexual trysts, expanded their network among the young to justify expenditures of government funds.

The population control program targeted the poor and now the result is that the highest incidence of teenage pregnancies is among the “informal settlers.” Why should there be a higher incidence here with the government providing free birth control pills and condoms? Are not these anti-pregnancy devices the “protection” that the government (Popcom is an implementor) adopted as their solution? Where did the money go?

The Popcom claims that “moral decadence” is one of the reasons why teenage pregnancy is on the rise in the country. Excuse me, but who created this situation of moral decadence?  Going into the history of this modern phenomenon will show that this moral decline is due to the sexual revolution that the feminists and the government-supported. Under the guise of controlling population to avert world hunger, the idea spread targeting mainly the poor and the “unwelcome races” like the blacks in America.

According to the Commission on Population regional director for National Capital Region Lydio Español Jr., the “contribution of religious belief to abstain from premarital sexual activities” has not been maintained over the years.

Well, that says a lot! The Popcom is among the institutions that spent a lot of time and money to undermine the efforts of the religious organizations particularly the Catholic Church that opposed the artificial birth control programs. Is not Popcom the main exponent of birth control with the use of the contraceptive pill and the condom?

Both methods were discarded by the Church because they contradict the moral foundations for the exercise of human sexuality, exactly what Popcom now described as “moral decadence.”

Español noted that while the “easiest way” to address the problem is through an executive order from President Duterte declaring teenage pregnancy as a “national emergency, it is important to tap the religious sector. It is not only the government that has to look for a solution to this problem.” Now Popcom thinks it needs to work with religious organizations which have criticized the government’s program for its lack of “morality aspect.”

He is right and we have been saying the same thing for years. He added, “Supposedly, it’s the parents who should educate their children.  But the problem is not all parents are comfortable discussing that topic in their homes.”

The report claims that “only 10 percent of Filipino families tackle adolescent sexuality at home, so the children are forced to get information somewhere else”. That was the argument of the pro-RH law had used to make “sex education” mandatory in schools. The Church opposed that view because indeed the right place for such a sensitive matter is in the home. Every parent knows their children and what they needed and at what point in time they required sex education.

Parents would teach the child according to the special situation and not like a book inside a classroom where special needs and level of sensitivity may not be detected or understood.

Teenagers getting pregnant are not just a Philippine situation. It is worldwide and shows that the lack of morality in the issue of human sexuality has degenerated into a situation that has forced many nations to abort an unwanted child.

That is a sad state. While governments and liberal groups shout against violations of human rights, they also sponsor abortion as if an unborn is not human and without rights. Some animals are better treated than an unborn child.

How did we come into this? Let’s continue tomorrow.