The National Inquiry on the Reproductive health law is notable for its timeliness
and relevance in light of our present political milieu that William Davies aptly calls the
Age of Post-Truth Politics. As Davies so succinctly puts it, “we are in the middle of a
transition from a society of facts to a society of data. During this interim, confusion
abounds surrounding the exact status of knowledge and numbers in public life,
exacerbating the sent that the truth itself is being abandoned.” Arguably, the
implementation of the Magna Carta for Women and to a greater extent the Reproductive
health law has been weakened by conditions present in this era.
The biases and misconceptions that people particularly duty-bearers might have
about Reproductive Health matters must be not be allowed to continue much less
influence government policy. The stakes are simply very great to permit archaic
mindsets to impose their will on our marginalized sectors even though facts do not
conform to their worldviews.
It is my fervent hope that the results of our National Inquiry will help key
influencers in our country see the continuing challenges to the implementation of the
Magna Carta for Women and Reproductive Health Law and move them to utilize their
significant political capital in galvanizing the rest of the nation to support the full
implementation of these key pieces of legislation.
That our National Inquiry opens the eyes of the public to the harrowing reality
that the Philippines despite of our initial public health efforts continue to have one of the
highest maternal mortality rates in the Asia-Pacific Region. Scientific data has shown that
countries that have progressed to the ranks of high development are those which have
significantly lowered their rates of maternal mortality. Thus, I cannot stress enough, that
we all must do more in this area if we wish to see our country reach OECD levels of
development in our lifetime.
That our reproductive health policies should be evidence-based and that the “pro-
life ordinance” such as those promoted in some local government units should reconsider
their policy stance in light the data that our inquiry has generated.
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