Contesting Contraception in the Catholic Church: A First Cut - The Quezon City Reproductive Health Ordinance.

This paper examines how advocates of religious norms interact with advocates of competing international norms by studying the case of the Quezon City Reproductive Health Ordinance, which promoted the use of artificial contraceptives and became a focal point for contestation in late 2007 between the Catholic Church and the city government. Drawing on interviews with Philippine clergy, activists and political figures, I show how representatives of the Catholic Church in the Philippines have sought to contest the promotion of artificial contraceptives, and how their efforts have collided with international organizations' attempts to advocate for increased contraceptive use for public health reasons, in particular, the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]