Noynoy's welcome stand

摘要

When a Filipina secretly gave birth on an airliner last month and dumped the infant in a rubbish bin, the country's powerful Catholic bishops rightly led an outcry of condemnation. (Happily, the baby survived.) But when President Be-nigno "Noynoy" Aquino then vowed to take steps to prevent the unwanted pregnancies that can lead to such horrors, by distributing contraceptives to poor Filipinos who wish to use them, the bishops were less reasonably incensed.rnSome threatened a campaign of civil disobedience against a mooted "reproductive health" bill, which would force the government to promote the use of contraceptives. Though they are legal in the Philippines, previous governments have been wary of pushing them for fear of upsetting the church. Given its political influence-80% of Filipinos are Catholic and the church's call for civil disobedience in 1986 helped overthrow the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos-many consider Mr Aquino's bold move to be suicidal.