Monday, July 24, 2006

Not exactly sunny news

I keep postponing writing about what's happening in my country in terms of pro-family and pro-life legislation. Why? Frankly, because it doesn't look good at all. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo just delivered the State of the Nation address this afternoon so both Houses are back in session -- and that means the bills (including those proposing reproductive health care, population control and everything along these lines) will be moving closer to being enacted into law if we don't act fast enough (and if we don't pray enough).

I've also been toying with the idea of writing something here about the latest sex education modules that the Dept. of Education has come up with and which has received tremendous criticism due to its gross emphasis on contraceptive use. The modules -- called Adolescent Reproductive Health or something like that (I'll supply the complete title as soon as I get my copy from the office -- okay here it is: LESSON GUIDES ON ADOLESCENT REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH: A POPULATION EDUCATION CONCEPT) -- have this as their underlying motto: it's okay to have sex as long as you don't get pregnant and you don't get a disease. Riiiight, that's certainly the message we need to bombard our nation's 11- to 17-year-olds if they're to be equipped with life principles, if they're really to be the hope of the nation. Six subjects, six years -- can they think of anything else after that besides how to put a condom correctly? Probably the rudiments of proper Pill usage, dating, boyfriend blues, their "reproductive rights" which, according to their teacher, are a basic human right, how overpopulated the world is (yet another myth)...

This is turning out to be a cynical post (sorry). Alas, some news that don't exactly make for "look-at-the-bright-side" material. There's the new school curriculum in Spain that'll have kids learning that homosexuality is normal, and the approval of the Dutch political party that supports legalized pedophilia and child pornography. (Sigh.) Then in Bolivia, not only did a 10-year-old girl have to experience the trauma of rape; she got pregnant and then obtained an abortion with the backing of her parents, an NGO and feminist groups. Talk about double trauma.

Really, with all this news, I watched the last 20 minutes of the Miss Universe beauty pageant (which I chanced upon on TV this morning) with much relief and delight. Notwithstanding all the in-your-face silicone-enhanced exposure, watching the pretty finalists from Switzerland, Japan, USA, Puerto Rico and (my personal favorite) Paraguay sashay and hold hands in anticipation of the final outcome, proved to be a welcome respite. Oh, and Miss Philippines was adjudged Miss Photogenic.

I'll get around to reporting the updates on the sex education issue as well as on legislation sometime. Just not today.

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