Awareness of Level Iv Students of Vmuf on Rh Bill free essay sample

While there is general agreement about its provisions on maternal and child health, there is great debate on its key proposal that the Philippine government and the private sector will fund and undertake widespread distribution of family planning devices such as  condoms,  birth control pills  (BCPs) and  IUDs, as the government continues to disseminate information on their use through all health care centers. However, the bill is controversial, as it is being opposed by concerned citizens, especially the pro-life, pro-family and pro-God groups, regardless of creed or religion. Debates and rallies supporting and opposing the bills have been happening nationwide. Background of the Study The first time the Reproductive Health Bill was proposed in 1998. During the present 15th Congress, the RH Bills filed are those authored by House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman of Albay, HB 96; Iloilo Rep. Dale Bernard Tuddao, HB 101, Akbayan Representatives Kaka Bag-ao amp; Walden Bello; HB 513, Muntinlupa Representative Rodolfo Biazon, HB 1160, Iloilo Representative Augusto Syjuco, HB 1520, Gabriela Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan. In the Senate, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago  has filed her own version of the RH bill which, she says, will be part of the country’s commitment to international covenants. On 31 January 2011, the House of Representatives Committee on Population and Family Relations voted to consolidate all House versions of the bill, which is entitled  An Act Providing for a Comprehensive Policy on Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population Development and for Other Purposes. One of the main concerns of the bill, according to the Explanatory Note, is that the population of the Philippines makes it â€Å"the 12th most populous nation in the world today†, that the Filipino women’s fertility rate is â€Å"at the upper bracket of 206 countries. † It states that studies and surveys â€Å"show that the Filipinos are responsive to having smaller-sized families through free choice of family planning methods. † It also refers to studies which â€Å"show that rapid population growth exacerbates poverty while poverty spawns rapid population growth. And so it aims for improved quality of life through a â€Å"consistent and intelligible national population policy. † As policy it states that the State guarantees universal access to medically-safe, legal, affordable, effective and quality reproductive health care services, methods, devices, supplies and relevant information and education thereon even as it prioritizes the needs of wom en and children, among other underprivileged sectors. The bill is highly divisive, with experts, academics, religious institutions, and major political figures supporting and opposing it, often criticizing the government and each other in the process. The Roman Catholic Church expresses its opposition against the bill on many counts, most especially the procurement and distribution of family planning supplies for the whole country, when the available evidence from peer reviewed medical journals supports the hypothesis that when ovulation and fertilization occur in women taking oral contraceptives (OCs) or using intrauterine devices (IUD), post-fertilization effects are operative on occasion to prevent clinically recognized pregnancy. Hormonal contraceptives and/or IUDs directly affect the endometrium. These effects have been presumed to render the endometrium relatively inhospitable to implantation or to the maintenance of the pre-embryo or embryo prior to clinically recognized pregnancy. These make pills and IUDS abortifacient. Pro-life groups, and many professionals in the medical and nursing fields, believe that physicians and policy makers should understand and respect the beliefs of patients who consider human life to be present and valuable from the moment of fertilization. Patients should be made fully aware of this information so that they can consent to or refuse the use of artificial contraceptives. Furthermore, the position of the Catholic Church and the pro-life groups does not mean that they espouse the attitude of natalism at all costs, as if the number of children, in itself, were the unmistakable sign of authentic Christian matrimonial life. The sexual act, properly exercised within marriage only, is ordained primarily to the propagation of life. If there are reasonable motives for spacing births, such as serious medical conditions in the mother, or extreme poverty, then the Catholic Church teaches that married couples may take advantage of the natural cycles of the reproductive system and use their marriage precisely those times that are infertile (natural family planning). Other aspects of the bill being contested by concerned citizens include the classification of family planning supplies as essential medicines when their safety/toxicity profile and legal permissibility are questionable. At the same time, more importance should be given to the prevalent diseases, the top ten leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the Philippines, namely, infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis. Financial resources allotted by foreign donors to assist the Philippine government programs could actually be better spent towards pursuing health programs targeting communicable diseases than purchasing artificial contraceptives. Very pertinent to the debate about reproduction rights is the right to life. The Philippine Constitution says that the State â€Å"shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception†. If artificial contraceptives are medically proven to induce abortion as one of their mechanisms of action, then procurement and distribution of such family planning supplies are unconstitutional and illegal. Conceptual Framework A  bill  is a proposed law under consideration by a  legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the  executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an  act  or a  statute. Bills are originated exclusively in the House of Representatives but the Senate may propose also. The  Reproductive Health Bill, informally known as the  RH Bill, are  proposed laws  in the  Republic of the Philippines  aiming to guarantee universal access to methods of  contraception, fertility control,  sexual education, and maternal care. The study lays flow of the investigation based on the concept that a bill should be known by most people, especially students, before it becomes a law. The paradigmatic presentation follows input – process – output. Figure 1 shows three blocks representing the independent and dependent variables. The first block represents the input variables consist of the profile of subjects under investigation such as their gender, course and personal preference; and their degree of awareness on the Reproductive Health Bill. The second block represents the process used which is the Descriptive Survey Method. The third block represents the output variable which contains the awareness of level IV students of VMUF on the RH Bill. Figure 1. Paradigm of the Study Statement of the Problem This study seeks to determine the awareness of level IV students of VMUF on the Reproductive Health Bill. Specifically, this study ought to answer the following problems; 1. What is the profile of the respondent of the study as to: 2. 1 Gender 2. 2 Course 2. 3 Personal preference (Agree or disagree to RH Bill) 2. What is the degree of awareness of level IV students of VMUF on the RH Bill? Scope and Delimitation of the Study This study deals with the awareness of students of Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation on the Reproductive Health Bill. The respondents of the study are those students enrolled from different colleges of the university under the fourth year level during the first semester, Academic Year 2012-2013. These are the one hundred students from ten selected colleges of the university. Significance of the Study The findings of this study entitled â€Å"Awareness of Level IV Students of Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation on the Reproductive Health Bill†, endeavors to benefit the following: The University – The result of this study will serve as guide to gather knowledge on the awareness of the students on the Reproductive Health Bill for them to decide if they should impose the facts about the bill. The students – Students as well as the general public can understand the coverage and limitations of the RH Bill and to gain knowledge on how they would adjust with their beliefs about the bill. The future researchers – this material will serve as a reference that could help future researchers collect data produced within this duration. The lawmakers – findings of this study could influence the lawmakers to formulate provisions before the bill is passed. Definition of Terms The following terms were defined operationally for clarity and understanding within the context of this study. Adolescent sexuality refers to, among others, the reproductive system, gender identity, values and beliefs, emotions, relationships and sexual behavior at adolescence. AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) refers to a condition characterized by a combination of signs and symptoms, caused by human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which attacks and weakens the body’s immune system, making the afflicted individual susceptible to other life-threatening infections. Bill – is a proposed law under consideration by a  legislature. Descriptive Survey Method describes Data and characteristics about the population or phenomenon being studied by using survey. Demographic Profile the Characteristics of a human population or part of it. In this study, it refers to the gender and course of the respondents. Family planning refers to a program which enables couples, individuals and women to decide freely and responsible the number and spacing of their children, acquire relevant information on reproductive health care, services and supplies and have access to a full range of safe, legal, affordable, effective natural and modern methods of limiting and spacing pregnancy.