PBS Bemoans Philippines 'Diluting' Population Control Law to Protect Religious Liberty

Matthew Balan | August 27, 2014
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[More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.]

Mark Litke hyped the "population explosion – what some are calling a crisis" in the Philippines on the 24 August 2014 edition PBS NewsHour Weekend, and played up how poor "families in Asia's most Catholic country that have had little or no access to contraception or family planning advice." Litke confronted a retired Catholic archbishop on his Church's teaching against birth control: "If the people of the Philippines are in support of...contraception...why would the Church oppose any of that?"

The former ABC correspondent later lamented how the Supreme Court of the Philippines protected the religious liberties of Catholic institutions in the country as it upheld a "new reproductive health care law" that subsidizes birth control:

MARK LITKE: Still, before the bill was implemented, the Church and its supporters won some major concessions from the Supreme Court – effectively diluting the law. Private hospitals owned by religious institutions will not have to provide family planning options or even refer patients to hospitals that will provide the services. Minors seeking birth control pills or condoms will require parental consent.

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