The Philippines, Birth Control and the Roman Catholic Church

In the next 30 years the population of the Philippines is set to double to 170 million. Contraceptives are frowned on and abortion is illegal but as Sharmeen Obaid-Chinay reveals, every year more than half a million Filipinas are so desperate they undergo harrowing illegal abortions, despite the fact that at least 80,000 end up seriously ill in hospitals.

Normally I wouldn't carry a video over 10 minutes in length, but this story is especially dramatic and divided into three parts. Each is about seven minutes. It is an incredible piece of behind the scenes reporting and is only a few days old. What you are about to witness is something few westerners will ever have knowledge of, but in my opinion . . .  they should.

I hope you will watch all three parts, but if you are short on time and can only watch one part watch part 2 and watch it all the way through. 

The Philippines, Birth Control and the Roman Catholic Church (1 of 3)

The Philippines, Birth Control and the Roman Catholic Church (2 of 3)

The Philippines, Birth Control and the Roman Catholic Church (3 of 3)

A New Government Offers Possible Hope for Population Control

On May 10 the people of the Philippines elected a new president. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, son of democracy heroine Corazon Aquino, must now be elected by the Congress of the Philippines which is a process comparable to the electoral college in the US.

Aquino is opposed to abortions, but does support family planning and use of contraceptives and plans to push for legislation to make it easier for women to legally control childbirth.

On a Lighter Note

Ever since World War II the main form of public transportation in the Philippines has been the Jeepney. They are colorful vehicles made of scrap metal built on the frames of jeeps originally left as salvage from the war. Even today the Jeepneys are made from scrap, and the industry provides a few jobs (certainly not in the category of GM or Ford), but what will really interest you is the folklore they give to the country.

We thought we would take a day off from the intensive stories that are often intended to encourage you as my readers to ask more questions and look further into issues many people know little about, but on Monday I hope to only make you smile. On Monday we look at Jeepneys.

An Eye for An Eye Only Makes the Whole World Blind - Outsourcing America.