His/Her article went like this... (The funny thing here is that they thought that Jamail Lunar Macla is a female. They kept of using "Ms.", "she" and like)
We immediately made a comment to his/her article and told him/her the following statement...Monday, May 12, 2008
Reproductive health is not only being moral?
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In a statement, the Davao Teen Center (DTC) strongly expressed their support on the programs of the local government to address the reproductive health issues of the city. They challenged civil society to support the programs, as this is the "long hope of young people when it comes to accessibility of the reproductive health services of the city."
Jamail Lunar Macla, youth coordinator of DTC, expressed that the local initiative of passing and approving LDPC manifests the firmness of local leaders that reproductive health is more than moral and societal issue.
Macla said the issue is not just all about morality.
"Reproductive health is not only being moral. It is being human and humane to all citizenry where you let them choose to informed options based on the availability and accessibility of correct information and education that was given by all stakeholders in the society, which includes media, family, peers, academe and church," Macla said.
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I wonder what Macla means when she says "Reproductive health is not only being moral.”
Let us try to get the secular definition of “moral” in merriam-webster’s dictionary.
Mor-al
a: of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior : ethical (moral judgments) b: expressing or teaching a conception of right behavior (a moral poem) c: conforming to a standard of right behavior d: sanctioned by or operative on one's conscience or ethical judgment (a moral obligation)
Ah, now I see. Let me now attempt to rephrase Ms Macla’s statement:
"Reproductive health is not only being moral. It is not only being right or wrong. It is not only the concept of right behavior. It is not only about conforming to a standard of right behavior. It is not only one’s conscience or ethical judgment. It is being human and humane…”.
What is happening to our youth? Look at their concept of what is moral, as if it is the opposite of what is ‘humane’. These youth are going to bring these principles into this nation’s future leadership positions unless they are corrected.
There’s a lot to be done. But I think I’m about to cry first.
We didn't identify ourselves because we don't want to get the attention of his/her readers who will eventually make a "personal attack" comments on us just like what happened in LDPC hearings.
Subsequently, 2 bloggers commented and said...
WillyJ said...
So, we responded to Manny's arguments. We answered him and said...
Anon,
Well, I'm no English major and you do have a point there. I guess Macla should have clarified further. To me, being "moral and human and humane" involves protecting life in all its stages, and I hope this is not lost when she talks about "informed options" in the context of Reproductive Health.Manny said...
Let's not play with words. That young lady simply has got it wrong. She thinks morals can be discarded so that she can affirm some touchy-feely concept of women's rights. She seems to forget that around half the innocent unborn children killed by abortifacient contraceptives are also female.
We have a brainwashed generation coming to the reins of power. We have to find a way to disabuse them of this end-justifies-the-means madness.
anon AKA eM-Ar said...Up to now, the discussion still continue.i can simply illustrate the contention/s of Ms Macla and the Author using a formula..
AUTHOR
Reproductive Health = Moral (ONLY)
MS MACLA
Reproductive Health = Moral + Human + Humane (incorporation of efforts from church, media, family and state)
I think Manny doesn't see my point here. i will take your arguments one by one.
"Let's not play with words."
When the author rephrased Ms Macla's statement, how would you call such act?
Extracting, or playing as he called it, the exact meaning of words is very much necessary to communicate it to the audience clearly and effectively, especially, if we don't want to brainwash our audience.
"She seems to forget that around half the innocent unborn children killed by abortifacient contraceptives are also female."
Will you agree with me that Reproductive Health IS NOT EQUALS TOIS NOT EQUALS TO
"We have a brainwashed generation coming to the reins of power."
we must be guided on the idea that People shapes Culture and Culture shapes People. Our new generation today is brainwashed because of the role played by their older generation. Partly, we can blame our young people but the older generation who shaped culture must be greatly blamed. Older generation thought our younger generation. Eventually, they will perform this task to the next generation.
Above all, HOWEVER, we are still in the same advocacy, to uphold our HEALTH RIGHTS in general. Everything was made by God for purpose. He even allowed evil to exist because he wanted us to be more faithful to HIM. Hence, in general, EVERYTHING IS GOOD.
You, Me, Us, We, Them, They, Young, Old, Rich, Poor, Media, Chair, Table, Government, Law, Rules, Body, Physical being, Society, Emotional Being and even REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH.
It is the methodology used that made it bad, that made it evil.
To simply put by analogy, the existence of the Knife in essence is good. If no one touches it, it would not create neither good effect nor bad effect. abortifacient? if yes, then we are in the same boat. if no, then will you also believe that Natural Family Planning recommended by the Church Reproductive Health.
Moral Lesson from this teeners, as advocate for Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH) we need to be Strong and Tough yet Soft and Kind. Strong and tough to push through our agenda, campaigns and calls yet Soft and Kind to communicate, counsel, influence, lobby, facilitate, inspire and develop our fellow advocate of ARH.
We need to ready ourselves with the worst battle of our life because our primary invisible enemy here is our culture. GOOD LUCK TEENERS!
P.S.
You can also actively participate the above-pasted discussion. Here is the link.
http://randomthoughtsmusings.blogspot.com/2008/05/reproductive-health-is-not-only-being.html
Anonymous said...
i just read this blog article and found that your topic is quite fascinating.
i have this observation, i guess what Ms Macla is saying is that the word "moral" is not the antonym of the word "humane".
just want to quote his sentence. He said that
"Reproductive health is not only being moral. It is being human and humane to all citizenry...linguist will say that what he is implying that reproductive health is NOT ONLY being moral is an idea that she also believes that Reproductive health is also moral. The subsequent sentence is only an inclusion and emphasis of what reproductive health means, that reproductive health is moral, being human and being humane.
When you rephrased her sentence, i see that you tried to expand the meaning of moral. My english teacher always reminds me to become brief and concise with paragraph construction. What you added, for me, is superfluous and may not be included.