THE RH WARS: FRAMING THE POPULATION AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH DEBATE
The research for this study was made possible through a grant obtained by the authors under the Merit Research Awards (MRA) Program of the Institute of Philippine Culture, School of Social Sciences, Ateneo de Manila University.
For decades, population has been one of the most contentious issues in the Philippines, and its framing and reframing by different stakeholders present various ways of interpreting whether it is a problem and what solution is best to address it. This study takes a systematic look at the different frames that have been used to discuss population and reproductive health in public discourse from both communication and political perspectives. Different types of frame analysis were conducted on various population-related texts that appeared in public and policy content from 1987 to 2007. By mapping out the different frames used in public and policy discourses, the study sought to explain the persistent impasse in population and reproductive health policy debates. It recommends message and audience strategies in order to move forward the conversation on population, reproductive health, and family planning. The study ends with a discussion on the various provisions on the RH Law and its journey after it was enacted in 2012.
