The Vatican Roulette

It's that time of the month again when I have to pop the first out of my 21-day pill cycle. I've been at it since the beginning of this year and I don't see myself stopping anytime soon. I've gotten so much used to the pill popping that I'm at the point of being mechanical. It's one of the disadvantages (the other being the risk of having VD) of having an active sex life.

Anyhoo, we were having our customary (or is it mandatory?) afternoon merienda (snack) break when the topic all of sudden shifted to birth control. I found myself having a mini-lecture on the process of reproduction. Camille, our receptionist/back-up facilitator, is admittedly a little naive on the subject matter. She sheepishly tells us that she just slept her way through class when the teacher was discussing the tale of the birds and the bees.

Cam’s been with her boyfriend Butch for 5 years (and still counting) already but they still haven’t had sex. Nothing wrong with her, just a case of prudishness. She’s a tad bit shy and has had a somewhat sheltered upbringing. But mind you, she does get the dirty jokes being passed around.

Cam is only one of the millions of Filipinos in the dark about reproduction. According to a recent survey from the Department of about 30% of couples in the Philippine population is not aware of the link between having sex and having kids. The majority of these “unenlightened” people live in rural areas where access to information and health care is very remote. Being in the countryside with nothing much to do after their day toiling in the fields is over, sex as a form of relaxation is pretty much in order.

Add to this the strong grip that the Catholic Church has on them and you’ve got a crisis on population control. These people view children as a gift from God, which they are, but nothing more than that.

In line with this is the common thinking among Filipinos that the more children you have, the more people who would support you as you advance in age. It is not uncommon to hear about people having a dozen or so kids. My mom has 7 siblings; my dad has 5.

Back to the Church, the Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country with over 80% of its population in its fold. It is, undoubtedly, the institution that has the strongest presence anywhere in the country (well, most of the country anyway). The Philippine Catholic Church is a very reactionary lot – it opposes all forms of contraception except for the Natural/Rhythm method, also known as the Vatican Roulette.

In fact, they raised quite a ruckus a couple of years back when the Department of Health went full blast with their Contraception Campaign. I remember our parish priest having a very passionate sermon about it – that was the time that I was still going to mass. They were very adamant in trying to stop the Department of Health employees from having to disseminate condoms to people and give lectures on all the available birth control methods.

The Vatican Roulette is simply ineffective because a woman’s body changes its reproductive cycle to the days when she’s having sex. The body does that eventually because it’s been programmed that way. This dates back to the days of the cavemen to ensure the propagation of the human specie.