First, let me extend a very warm welcome to the many new Filipino readers that have discovered this blog in the past 24 hours. My husband is from Australia, so I do get down to that part of the world on occasion and I hope to visit your beautiful country at some point in the future.
It is great to have you here, although the circumstances of our meeting are, to say the least, unusual.
It seems one of your esteemed Senators, Tito Sotto, plagiarized a blog post I wrote on February 23, 2011 entitled How The Pill Can Harm Your Future Child’s Health, lifting entire sections of the article basically word for word that was delivered in a speech to the Senate Floor regarding the possible passage of the highly controversial Reproductive Health Bill.
What’s worse, Senator Sotto is denying the charge of plagiarism, saying in an interview with ABS-CBN:
“Why would I quote the blogger? I was quoting Natasha McBride.”
Nice touch Senator. Â You almost had me convinced you were a nice guy with the tears and all.
Many of your citizens have emailed me assuring me that was a put on, and I’m starting to think they are right.
A thief is a thief, Mr. Senator. Â Denying it doesn’t get you off the hook; it just makes you a lying thief.
On the bright side, I am thrilled that your lapse of moral judgment has brought much-needed attention to the fact that the birth control pill can have devastating consequences to a woman’s long term health and possibly those of her children and even grandchildren.  Gut dysbiosis is a serious condition that has multi-generational consequences that women need to be educated about and completely aware of before making the very personal decision to use them.
It was indeed brave of you to take this controversial position. Â Kudos to you for that.
By the way, I am truly sorry for the loss of your son.
As the mother of two sons myself, I can only imagine the pain and devastation you have felt from such an experience.
While this has been a highly charged and hopefully enlightening experience for all involved, it’s time now to set the drama aside and get back to fighting the good fight by continuing to educate people about how their food and pharma choices affect not only themselves but also those they dearly love.
And although my attorney will likely try to persuade me otherwise, for now I’m moving on as I’ve got work to do.
Women of the Philippines: I am terribly sorry my blog was used and twisted against you. You deserve the choice to use The Pill if you want or need to based on your particular circumstances. While I want you to know that this choice has health consequences as does the decision to use any pharmaceutical drug, I in no way would ever condone taking this choice away from you! Â Mabuhay!
And what about the poor women of our society? They breed like rabbits because they are poor and uneducated. The RH bill is going to make sure that the government gives them contraceptives so that their population can be controlled. They have so many children they can hardly feed, and then you have a lot of children roaming the streets, begging. Contraception is necessary to control the population of the poor. That’s why the RH bill needs to be passed. It is for reasons of providing contraceptives to the poor women so that they don’t get pregnant.
And what about teen pregnancies? We need the RH bill so that we can prevent teen pregnancies. The RH bill will make contraceptives easily accessible to our teenagers so that they don’t get pregnant.
Contraceptives is needed, so let us pass the RH bill. We have to control our poor population, and we have to prevent teenagers from getting pregnant.
I think Sarah laying off the dear Senator is quite fine. I never took him seriously (if ever) and those who did really have their expectations on the wrong side of things (much like the entire function of the political system in the Philippines). As of the RH bill itself, at one point I only opposed specifically due to ideas on how to bring about the education. I’m not a fan of free government funded condoms but I am about addressing to the poor the impact and implications family size within economic means. I am also interested in their efforts in programs to engage and educate the young women with the consequences of being sexually active and giving them the knowledge to cope with those consequences (especially those victims of rape who do get pregnant). Unwanted pregnancies aren’t the only dangers besides finding hackneyed ways to do so (coat hanger technique, paying absurd money for a wonder drink to ‘get rid of it’). You also have sexually transmitted diseases and with the lack of awareness to get tested, no wonder HIV is slowly looming about in certain areas.
The pill is certainly not the be-all-end-all solution. Quality education is in contrast with goals to accomplish for the future. And certainly much better than the whole ‘vague effort of conserving the meaning of the family’ that Sotto and his company want to offer. He knows damn well he profits from those who aren’t educated.
If Sarah is saying that she believes contraceptives can be harmful, why is she supporting the RH bill then? Isn’t it that we are trying to say that contraceptives provide the safest option to prevent pregnancy? The Filipino Freethinkers have put up a picture saying she’s pro-choice and pro-RH.
Have you read her blog, the one about Dr. McBride’s book? You should because this entire thing is all about that original blog that was plagiarized. The reason Sotto plagiarized her is because …
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/how-the-pill-can-harm-your-future-childs-health/
That is the link of Sarah’s original blog. It contains this part which was plagiarized:
“According, Natasha Campbell McBride MD, use of other drugs such as The Pill also cause severe gut dybiosis.”
Clearly, Sarah agrees with Dr. McBride that the contraceptive Pill can cause harm. And Sotto agrees with her, therefore plagiarized her.
Bottom line is this: We disagree with Sarah’s position on the medical safety of the Pill, although we wholeheartedly appreciate her position on RH as a choice that should be available to women. We respect the nuances of her position by not representing what she believes.
I meant to say, “We respect the nuances of her position by not MISREPRESENTING what she believes.”
Please take the time to read the expanded 2010 edition of the book Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride:
http://www.amazon.com/Gut-Psychology-Syndrome-Depression-Schizophrenia/dp/0954852028/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345164975&sr=8-1&keywords=gut+and+psychology+syndrome
Ana,
Sarah is actually saying that there are harmful effect from using the Pill. What she supports is having the Choice… the RH bill is not just about the pill. And yes some of the horror stories are true, I am pro-RH, I use the pill and I know well enough what it could do to my body so I don’t intend to use it for a long time. there are other options.. Like all medicines, there are side-effects. Pro-RH people should know better than to try to convince people there is absolutely no harm in taking the pill, because that would be deceitful..There is possible harm, it is not for all women, some might react/cope well with it, some may not. I have tried the depo-shot before.. did not suit me, tried 3 different types of pill and surprisingly the cheapest on seems to be the one that suits me best.. but like i said, i know of the consequences so i plan to shift to non-hormonal options.. may be IUD… See? I am well aware and I decide for myself. Let us not tell the people that the pill is 100% safe because all pill manufacturers do not claim that. let’s stick to the facts.
Sarah, the Senator is dared to be sued. I say SUE HIM. The pro-RH side need to silence those who speak lies about contraceptives. Senator Sotto is telling the Filipino people that using contraceptives poses a threat to both the woman and the baby. Sue him, Sarah, and help us silence the voices of those who tell lies about contraceptives. You must help us make it clear that contraceptives pose no dangers, and you can do that by suing one of the people who are against the passing of the RH bill.
Ana, in fairness to Sarah, her position is slightly different from ours/yours.
Sarah Pope blogged about Dr. McBride position that the Pill does have some harm to women. Read the original blog. Of course, you and I disagree with that, but we will respect Sarah’s position.
What Sarah wholeheartedly agrees with us is on the issue of RH education and choice. She believes that women should be educated about options and risks so that they can make a good decision about their choices. This is the part where you can raise Sarah to whatever pedestal you want to build for her.
Hahaha! I’m happy for you, Sarah. The prominence of your blog suddenly skyrocketed. Your blog’s link is shown in all major Philippine news sites. I now even start to see your photo is some sites.
And you are doing well with your messages. You support the Filipino women’s right to have a choice in their RH decisions. You also rejected the senator’s staff non-apology apology.
A friendly advice: show your best foot; this blog will soon be seen by millions.
Now, if you want to land in Philippine prime-time TV and fight for the principle of intellectual property rights, then sue Senator Sotto under the Philippine Intellectual Property Rights Code. You will find that our very best lawyers will support your suit.
Correction. Tito Sotto is not one of our “esteemed” Senators. He thinks he is a comedian but he is not funny. If you want to sue his ass for stealing your property, JUST DO IT! Follow your lwayer’s advise.
I would also like to add that your support for the RH bill will help the poor Filipino women understand that contraceptives will never have any serious side effects for them. The anti-RH have always scared the poor by telling them horror stories about the side effects of contraception. Now, these poor women will have the contraceptives, and they are going to have peace of mind that their own bodies, and those of their future children, will not be affected by the use of contraceptives. And most of all, this will be government funded. Thank you for giving us your support in defeating those who are opposed to the passing of the bill. Thank you so very much, Sarah Pope.
Sarah Pope, supporter of the passing of the RH bill in the Philippines.
I’m glad to see that you support for the passage of the RH bill in the Philippines. I found this in the Filipino Freethinkers page in Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151208624580555&set=a.159757920554.147823.688430554&type=1&theater
Thank you for taking the side of those who are for the passing of the RH bill. You are going to be of big help for the cause by telling the Filipinos that contraceptives do not pose any serious side effects, which is what Senator Sotto was trying to do. I’m glad that an American like you can help correct the lies that the Pill is dangerous.
The graphic used with Sarah Popes image in that link (FB page) should be in the same category as the plagiarism. Of all the work that Ms. Pope has done with her blog in educating the public about big pharma, GMO farming and healthy eating tips, that graphic is absolutely profane and does not fit at all in the theme of her blog! Of all the things I have felt of Ms. Pope, I feel that her comment was not made to promote the polluting and manipulation of a woman’s mind and body by big pharma through Planned Parenthood, Maria Stopes, WHO and the UN. It is sick how these organizations continue to sabotage words and phrases to turn them upside down and use them for the manipulation of the poor and helpless. I pray that this does not represent Ms. Pope’s true sentiment and can only hope that she will clarify her true position. Sue Sotto? How about sue the establishment that she so successfully and effectively fights against through her blog, daily? That graphic, in my opinion, does not represent Ms. Pope!
I’m glad to have read a classy response to what a senator from my country said. I especially like the last part of what you said that Filipino women need to be EDUCATED about the pros and cons of taking The Pill. That’s what the reproductive health bill is supposed to be about: that information be available to those who want and need it.
Dear Atty. Hector,
An act of plagiarism was clearly committed. And plagiarism is downright stealing. Period. What do you not understand about the word ‘stealing?’ In the field of medicine and research, to copy someone’s words and pass it off as your own is considered the gravest of all sins.
And the least that you could have done was to APOLOGIZE to the aggrieved party, instead of writing a very looooong explanation and defense. Very lame, and very unprofessional.