Lea Salonga: You don't have to use contraceptives to be pro-RH

World-class singer Lea Salonga, a staunch supporter of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, said one does not have to be pro-contraception to be pro-reproductive health. In an exclusive interview with Jessica Soho on GMA News TV's "State of the Nation" on Wednesday night, Salonga admitted that she is currently not using any form of contraception because she and her husband want to have another child. "I'd love to have another kid," she said. "I kind of leave it up to God at this point, but we're not stopping anything from happening." Salonga said she is not using the pill as there are some side effects that affect her as a singer, but she said she chose another contraceptive method that best suits her. "But that was a choice that we made. So you don't have to be pro-contraception to be pro-reproductive health," she said. "You (should) choose for yourself, because I believe every individual has a choice," she added. "For a mother of ten at the age of 30 to say 'eh wala akong choice,' sinong hindi magagalit no'n?" Salonga said she respects others who stand on the other side of the debate, like the Catholic Church which is strongly against the controversial bill. "I'm Catholic and I respect the anti-contraceptive stance of the Catholic religion," she said. "But the bill is not meant to serve just Catholics. It's supposed to serve every single Filipino."

Targets of RH bill In the same interview, Salonga laughed at the idea that she is being pitted against champion boxer and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao, the latest poster boy of the anti-RH camp. "I would lose in a fistfight! It's not a fair fight," she quipped. She said she understands Pacquiao's argument that people already have access to contraceptives even without the bill. However, she said people with money and access to education are not the targets of the RH bill. "You have access to it because heck, you can have access to a gold-plated condom if it so behooves you to buy one, but you're not the target of the RH bill," she said. "It's those who still go to manghihilots, who die at the hands of untrained people." Salonga said she supports the RH bill because it will help educate women and the youth on healthcare and even respect for women. "Pagkakataon na natin ito na pwede nating i-mold ang pag-iisip ng ating mga kabataan na dapat respetuhin lahat ng mga babae, na ang katawan ng babae ay hindi pwedeng mabuntis nang mabuntis nang mabuntis, kasi nabuntis na rin ako. Hindi madali," she said. She recalled a video she has seen about a woman who died giving birth to her tenth child and a traditional faith healer who placed a lock of hair on top of the woman's stomach while she was giving birth. "You're just shaking in your boots from watching things like this because it's like, why do so many millions of our women have to go through this?" she said. "(The bill) is in favor of the midwives who fight everyday to battle this ignorance," she said. "It's for the 11 women that die. It's for the health workers that try to educate." — RSJ, GMA News