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VASECTOMY is a safe and highly effective method of birth control accepted by many couples throughout the world,” assured the Atlanta-based US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A form of permanent contraception, it “can prevent pregnancy by blocking the transport of sperm out of the testes.” While it is common in the United States – where almost half a million of vasectomy procedures are performed each year – vasectomy is unpopular in the Philippines. Most Filipinos, according to a study done by the Department of Health (DOH) confused vasectomy with castration, which is the surgical removal of the testicle(s). There are those who believe that once a man goes through with vasectomy, he would become effeminate and gentle. Others think that the procedure will make a man not to enjoy sex anymore as he used to. Vasectomy is the most effective permanent form of birth control available to men. Vasectomy is a surgical procedure for male sterilization. During the procedure, the tube (vas deferens) of a man are severed, and then tied/ sealed in a manner so that the sperms are prevented from entering into the seminal stream (ejaculate). A vasectomy is usually performed in a physician’s office or medical clinic. “My vasectomy was a piece of cake,” said Noel, a 35-year-old businessman who had undergone the procedure. “I was as nervous as anyone about it. The worst part of the whole thing was thinking about it for a month after I made the appointment. It really was no worse than getting Dear Atty. Zen, Under the Family Code, how much is a man required to give as support to a child he has sired out of wedlock? Is there a system of computation? Who’ll determine the amount of child support. Thanks. Maning
Dear Maning,
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The amount of support to give to an illegitimate child has always been a ticklish issue. Unfortunately, I will not be able to give you a categorical answer but can only provide you the general guidelines in determining the amount of support. Before, the difficult question to answer was the recognition of a child since paternity is proven through witness accounts, pictures, and other extrinsic evidences. Since the Supreme Court has allowed DNA testing to be used to determine whether a child was indeed sired by the alleged father, recognition of the child has become easier now since the answer to the question can now be literally derived at a press of a button. This is not the case in determining the
VOL. 8 ISSUE 63 • TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015
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Fatherhood interrupted a filling at the THINK ON THESE! dentist. I had no pain to speak of afterwards, and no swelling.” Here’s an explanation why a man can no longer get a woman pregnant once he Henrylito D. Tacio undergoes vahenrytacio@gmail.com sectomy frommedicinenet. com: “Sperm are made in the two testicles, which are inside the scrotum. Sperm is stored in a tube attached to each testicle called the epididymis. When a man ejaculates, the sperm travel from the epididymis, through the vas deferens, and then mix with seminal fluid to form semen. The semen then travels through the urethra and out the penis. Before a vasectomy, semen contains sperm and seminal fluid. After a vasectomy, sperm are no longer in the semen. The man’s testicles will make less sperm over time, and his body will absorb any sperm that are made.” Getting a vasectomy does not immediately make a man sterile. “It usually takes several months after a vasectomy for all remaining sperm to be ejaculated or reabsorbed,” WebMd.com says. “You must use another method of birth control until you have a semen sample tested and it shows a zero sperm count. Otherwise, you can still get your partner pregnant.” In fact, there is still a small risk that the vasectomy will fail, which can lead to unin-
tended pregnancy. According to medicinenet. com, among 1,000 vasectomies, 11 will likely fail over 2 years; and half of these failures will occur within the first 3 months after surgery. The risk of failure depends on a number of factors. For example, some surgical techniques are more likely to fail than others. In addition, there is a very small risk that the two ends of the vas deferens will grow back together. If this happens, sperm may be able to enter the semen and make pregnancy possible. While it is true that vasectomy is safe and highly effective, there are some problems that could occur after surgery and over time, according to medicinenet.com. “After surgery, most men have discomfort, bruising, and some swelling, all of which usually go away within two weeks,” the website points out. “Problems that can occur after surgery and need to be checked by a health care provider include hematoma (bleeding under the skin that can lead to painful swelling) and infection (with fever and scrotal redness and tenderness as signs).” Now regarding whether vasectomy will affect a man’s sex life, medicinenet.com has this answer: “Vasectomy will not affect your sex life. It does not decrease your sex drive because it does not affect the production of the male hormone testosterone. It also does not affect your ability to get an erection or ejaculate semen. Because the sperm make up a very small amount of the semen, you will not notice a difference in the amount of semen you ejaculate.” There are men who don’t want to undergo vasectomy procedure because some studies
showed it will increase a man’s risk of prostate cancer. In an article which appeared in What Doctors Don’t Tell You, it was noted that “the risk of developing prostate cancer after vasectomy jumps from seven per 1000 men per year to 11 per 1000 men per year - an increase of more than 60 per cent. The researchers confidently concluded that there was a genuine connection between prostate cancer and vasectomy, as the odds of these two findings being chance results were thousands to one against.” However, several studies later contradicted that study. In 1994, a very large-scale Danish report on every vasectomy case in Denmark over a 12-year period (nearly 75,000 men) compared their prostate cancer risk with the rest of the Danish male population – “and found no connection at all.” The most recent study comes from New Zealand, a country with the highest rate of vasectomy in the world – and apparently meticulous cancer records. It compared more than 900 men with prostate cancer with about 1200 healthy men, and found no difference in prostate cancer rates. Now, the inevitable question: Can vasectomy be reversed? Yes, it can! WebMd.com has this information: “Surgery to reconnect the vas deferens is available. But the reversal procedure is difficult. Sometimes a doctor can remove sperm from the testicle in men who have had a vasectomy or a reversal that didn’t work. The sperm can then be used for in vitro fertilization. Both vasectomy reversal and sperm retrieval can be expensive and may not always work.”
amount of supZENSIBILITIES port to be given to a child since the answer heavily depends on the evidence presented by the parties. The Family Code only provides that the amount Emily Zen Chua of support given must be able to answer the basic needs of the child. Article 194 of the Family Code defines support as one that “comprises everything indispensable for sustenance, dwelling, clothing, medical attendance, education and transportation, in keeping with the financial capacity of the family. The education of the person entitled to be supported referred to in the preceding paragraph shall include his schooling or training for some profession, trade or vocation, even beyond the age of majority. Transportation shall include expenses in going to and from school, or to and from place of work.” There are two parameters in determining the amount of support. The first one is the
available resources of the giver and the second one is that both parents are obligated to equally support the child. Articles 201 of the Family Code states that “The amount of support, in the cases referred to in Articles 195 and 196, shall be in proportion to the resources or means of the giver and to the necessities of the recipient (underlining mine).” As such, the amount of support not only considers the needs of the child but also the capacity of the giver to provide said amount. In addition, the couple who sired the child are both required by law to support the child. This is found in Article 200 of the Family Code which states that “When the obligation to give support falls upon two or more persons, the payment of the same shall be divided between them in proportion to the resources of each...” Of course, if one of the parent has no capacity to provide for the child, as provided by the first parameter, then the obligation will devolve on the parent who has the capacity to provide for the child. Based on the above legal provisions, the amount of support you will give to a child sired outside of wedlock heavily depends on the circumstances of both the giver and the recipient. Evidences you present in the case
will thus matter. Please note though that unlike other judgments where the decision in the case cannot change once the judgment becomes final; the amount granted under a judgment giving support to a child, on the other hand, can be changed from time to time. This is based on Article 202 of the Family Code which provides that “Support in the cases referred to in the preceding article shall be reduced or increased proportionately, according to the reduction or increase of the necessities of the recipient and the resources or means of the person obliged to furnish the same.” The judge of the court where your case is being heard will determine the amount of support that you will give the child. Of course, the judge can ask the help of an expert to give his or her advice on the matter, like an accountant or economist to analyze and summarize the evidence presented by both parties.
Supporting junior
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The opinion rendered by the author does not constitute a lawyer-client relationship. Please send your comments and questions to EmilyZen@ezlawdavao.com.