Quick: what are the legitimate activities of government, according to libertarians? Usually, libertarians will mention a short like including things like
national defense, criminal justice, protection of property rights. Some, such as Murray Rothbard, are anarcho-capitalists and believe even these traditional
functions of government could and should be handled by the private sector.
Where, then were the libertarians when the United States supported efforts
to impose the “Reproductive Health Bill”on the Republic of
the Philippines? This bill mandates that all school children receive Age- and Development-Appropriate Reproductive Health Education. –
The State shall provide age- and development-appropriate reproductive health education to adolescents which shall be taught by adequately trained teachers
informal and nonformal educational system and integrated in relevant subjects such as, but not limited to, values formation; knowledge and skills in
self-protection against discrimination; sexual abuse and violence against women and children and other forms of gender based violence and teen pregnancy;
physical, social and emotional changes in adolescents; women’s rights and children’s rights; responsible teenage behavior; gender and development;
and responsible parenthood.
How did Sex Ed make it on the Short List of acceptable and mandated governmental activities? The bill continues:
No marriage license shall be issued by the Local Civil Registrar unless the applicants present a Certificate of Compliance issued for free by the local
Family Planning Office certifying that they had duly received adequate instructions and information on responsible parenthood, family planning, breastfeeding
and infant nutrition.
The State must explain the Facts of Life, and how modern contraception can subvert said Facts of Life, before people
are allowed to get married. Hummm. Doesn’t sound like the Night Watchman State to me…. An earlier versionof
the bill mandated that
The State shall assist couples, parents and individuals to achieve their desired family size within the context of responsible parenthood and sustainable
development and encourage them to have two children as the ideal family size.
The Philippine Supreme Court knocked out this part of the bill. But the real question is: WHAT WAS IT DOING THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE? WHO THE HECK
GAVE ANY GOVERNMENT THE RIGHT TO PICK OUT AN “IDEAL” FAMILY SIZE!!!!
And yes, we know the US government was in cahoots with the UN Population Fund to promote this legislation in the Philippines. We know that from this
leaked cable from the US Ambassador to the Philippines, shamelessly bragging about US involvement:
Landmark appropriations and draft legislation reflect increasing commitment within the Philippine Government to further expand and sustain programs started
forty years ago with U.S. Government’s assistance through USAID. The U.S. Government continues to be the largest donor in the Philippine population
sector supporting efforts to improve local government service delivery and increase private sector contributions to family health outcomes.
Like I said, where are the libertarians when we need them? I give Murray Rothbard a pass on this, as he has been dead for some time. I can’t help
but think that if he were alive, he would be all over this atrocity of Cultural Imperialism of the Rich Western countries against the people of Poor
Asian countries.
What about the rest of you?
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