Petitioner Echavez and the other medical practitioners meanwhile, contend that the
requirement to refer the matter to another health care service provider is still considered a
compulsion on those objecting healthcare service providers. They add that compelling them
to do the act against their will violates the Doctrine of Benevolent Neutrality. Sections 9, 14
and 1 7 of the law are too secular that they tend to disregard the religion of Filipinos.
Authorizing the use of contraceptives with abortive effects, mandatory sex education,
mandatory pro-bono reproductive health services to indigents encroach upon the religious
freedom of those upon whom they are required.192
Petitioner CFC also argues that the requirement for a conscientious objector to refer the
person seeking reproductive health care services to another provider infringes on one's
freedom of religion as it forces the objector to become an unwilling participant in the
commission of a serious sin under Catholic teachings. While the right to act on one's belief
may be regulated by the State, the acts prohibited by the RH Law are passive acts which
produce neither harm nor injury to the public.193
Petitioner CFC adds that the RH Law does not show compelling state interest to justify
regulation of religious freedom because it mentions no emergency, risk or threat that
endangers state interests. It does not explain how the rights of the people (to equality, nondiscrimination of rights, sustainable human development, health, education, information,
choice and to make decisions according to religious convictions, ethics, cultural beliefs and
the demands of responsible parenthood) are being threatened or are not being met as to
justify the impairment of religious freedom.194
Finally, the petitioners also question Section 15 of the RH Law requiring would-be couples to
attend family planning and responsible parenthood seminars and to obtain a certificate of
compliance. They claim that the provision forces individuals to participate in the
implementation of the RH Law even if it contravenes their religious beliefs.195 As the assailed
law dangles the threat of penalty of fine and/or imprisonment in case of non-compliance with
its provisions, the petitioners claim that the RH Law forcing them to provide, support and
facilitate access and information to contraception against their beliefs must be struck down
as it runs afoul to the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.
The Respondents' Positions
The respondents, on the other hand, contend that the RH Law does not provide that a
specific mode or type of contraceptives be used, be it natural or artificial. It neither imposes
nor sanctions any religion or belief.196 They point out that the RH Law only seeks to serve the
public interest by providing accessible, effective and quality reproductive health services to
ensure maternal and child health, in line with the State's duty to bring to reality the social
justice health guarantees of the Constitution,197 and that what the law only prohibits are
those acts or practices, which deprive others of their right to reproductive health.198 They
assert that the assailed law only seeks to guarantee informed choice, which is an assurance
that no one will be compelled to violate his religion against his free will.199
The respondents add that by asserting that only natural family planning should be allowed,
the petitioners are effectively going against the constitutional right to religious freedom, the
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