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!
Very well said! Kudos! Wish to see you in the Philippines!
Why?
Because the Philippine scenery is wonderful! It IS more fun in the Philippines, you know!
Really.
if you visit the Philippines go straight to Boracay, Bohol, Palawan, Cebu. avoid Metro Manila.
Hi Sarah,
I really appreciate your post. I’m a staunch supporter of the bill and the pill, but I’m lucky not to have the complications. I know many people who have had health problems and have either been perscribed the pill or told to get off it immediately. Thank you for your stand. You have my e-mail if you ever decide to visit my beautiful country, do drop me a line.
>Sabrina
Her stand?? Did you even understand her stand? She said that the pill may cause problems… buuut should not make it take the choice away from those who want to take it… that’s pretty lame.
You know, dihydrogen monoxide is detrimental to your health. Excess consumption can lead to dizziness, even death. Did you know that it has a 100% fatality rate?!
Do your research. Understand the risks. Then decide if the risks are worth it for you. If it isn’t worth it for you, then don’t. But don’t take away the decision for someone else.
Godprey. If you didn’t know, dihydrogen monoxide is also something called H20…aka water.
See? It’s nice to be educated sometimes.
Like Sarah said, every drug–natural or not–has side effects depending on your genetics. Everyone will have a different reaction to different types of drugs. What if something was detrimental to my health and I needed the pill to survive? Oh, wait. Some people actually need to do that. You know…to survive (physically and financially–the medical bills!) and have the chance to conceive? Look up PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome) or Endometriosis. Some women actually bleed so much during their cycle and need to be taken to the hospital. These are genetically induced. You don’t have a choice in that. I’m not sure if you can relate because I think you’re a man but if you’re a woman, have mercy on your future children.
*Facepalm.
Haha…oh my, dihydrogen monoxide a.k.a H2O a.k.a water has a 100% fatality rate? Surely, you jest?
Oh well, I’ve done my research. I’ve decided it’s best for me to keep taking this dihydrogen monoxide. Pretty sure I need it and wouldn’t want to miss my bath, anyway. 😉
Sarah’s point is not lame. As a nurse, I can assure you that most, if not all medical treatments and drugs have pros and cons. Many will die without a coronary artery bypass graft; however, the surgery, as do all surgeries, carries the risk of death. The patient should be given the right to make an educated decision. Another example, neonatologists use the drug indomethacin to close patent ductus arterioses in tiny NICU babies. The drug saves the patient the risks of a surgical procedure to repair the ductus; however, the drug carries the risk of intraventricular hemhorrage in the brain, which could have life-long consequences for the baby. Modern medicine is all about informed choices. Sarah realizes this!
Agree! All types of medication carry possible side effects, and the choices may be different for every person. Contraceptive pills come in different formulations and a doctor can help you determine which one is best for you, or if you should choose another method of contraception. For instance, my doctor prescribed a formulation which does not make me dizzy like my previous brand did, and does not affect lactation since I am still nursing my child. In any case, the fact that Sarah shared information about possible side effects of the pill is, I believe, a contribution to reproductive health education.
As for the plagiarism issue, well, let’s just call a spade a spade, shall we? I used to work as a writer in the House of Representatives of the Philippines and this quality of work would have never been tolerated by our chief-of-staff.
Lol… do you belong to Sotto’s staff?
Honest typographical error: Attorney Villacorta (:
Sarah for president!!!
Attorney Villanueva, how did you even pass the bar- for heaven’s sake?! SERIOUSLY? I am so pissed with what you responded -when you said this is not about plagiarism, well this is all about integrity, everything is for that matter. I am so pissed because you don’t have any sense of morality. And because of that, it is better to say my last remarks in Filipino: Napakatanga mo.
I suspect that there is more to this issue than meets the eye, especially for us online freelance writers. For all the speechwriters out there, there is this thing called Copyscape. Don’t be lazy. Spin manually and rewrite.
Hello, Sarah.
It’s funny people are reacting to the adjective “esteemed” you used to describe Sotto. I almost fell off my seat, too! LOL
Don’t worry no Filipino in his right mind believes Sotto’s speech (and *sob*) was real anyway. Not to downplay plagiarism in this case (because yeah, it really is the highest form of intellectual dishonesty), but you should know that you need not ask for apologies to us Filipino women because you feel that somebody misquoted your work to suit his purpose. NOBODY BELIEVES THE CRAP HE SAID ON NATIONAL TV. He’s a comedian plain and simple. Sadly, we get to watch/hear this kind of political circus from time to time. We just have to bear with it. *super saaaad* Blah. There I said it.
To Atty. Villacorta, please re-think the message you sent to Sarah. I think you may have said things way too rude, when you guys should be the ones asking for apologies. Chief of Staff, really?!? Galing mo naman magsulat. LOL
Nice article. Straight to the point, concise, and with grace. It is important for women in the Philippines to have the RH bill because it will give them INFORMATION, which is power in itself. Give them the good and the bad, and let them decide.
And do come to the Philippines. It’s a nice place to visit ^__^
i wanted to say this, but francis secor beat me to it. 🙂 thank you sarah. i hope when you do get to the philippines you will see how wonderful it is, despite the apparent idiocy of some of our public figures.
It just amuses me how many people choked on the word ESTEEMED! 🙂
And yes I agree with all of them. Sotto is just a comedian in the senate. Nobody believes his crocodile tears.
I’m from the Philippines and like many others from here who have already read this blog post, I too almost coughed up my coffee and my cereal bar when I read the word “esteemed”. Haha!
I never voted for Senator Sotto and despite his title as a Senator of the Republic of the Philippines, many still only accord him the respect that comes with being just a showbiz comedian and slapstick game show host. Ironically, it is his showbiz past that has made him a Senator since election time in this country can be compared to an American Idol season wherein the most popular and not necessarily the most talented wins.
Thank you Sarah for being firm against this blatant act by no less than an elected Senator who is trying to wash his hands of this shameful and embarrassing act. He can’t even own up to this mistake that he and his staff are equally responsible for. I do commend him though for the wonderful acting job of crying! Haha!
Sotto even have the nerves to say “sue me”. I really hope somebody does! According to his chief of staff it’s not even plagiarism since it is found in a public domain (I guess he’s referring to the internet). Duh!? Is this guy really a lawyer?
Every time I hear the word “Honorable Senator” makes me want to puke.
….choked on the term “ESTEEMED”? I can imagine how the word “DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN” would strike you
WTF! why would you even go there. There are other things to do the senator is right why would he quote a blogger. it’s not even her own too. it gave her publicity and she should have left it at that.
Ladies and Gentlemen: may I introduce “uaIDIOT”: member of Sotto’s writing staff, blog troll, talking chimp.
@uaIDIOT exactly, IDIOT, why WOULD he quote a blogger? doesn’t it puzzle you, too, assuming you have a brain?
Hey Idiot…stay out of the net because you are one of them who know nothing about how serious it is to plagiarize. It is a very shameful thing to do. I hope you understand. Haven’t you seen how a lot have reacted even the more educated pro RH Bill crowd admit that it is wrong. If you don’t have the brains, at least you have eyes…!!!!
@to all of you hindi magpapatira yan sa inyo so tigilan nyo na!if you want a conversation go somewhere else! lol!