Family policy expert denounces plan to promote condoms at schools in Spain

Madrid, Spain, Mar 15, 2010 / 13:21 pm

The president of Professionals for Ethics in the Spanish region of Catalonia, Ramon Novella, denounced a plan by the Catalonian government, pharmacy schools and the company Durex to promote condoms among young people.
 
Calling it a “new tool for indoctrinating young people, and in the case of minors, an attempt to supplant the fundamental educational role of the family,” Novella said the plan followed the same lines as the course Education for the Citizenry and other educational programs such as those included in the new law on abortion.
 
Novella said all of these programs have done nothing but “promote promiscuity and irresponsibility among teens and young people,” leading to an increase in pregnancies, abortions and sexually-transmitted diseases.
 
He wondered aloud whether the Catalonian government “would assume responsibility for the pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases caused by the incorrect use or manufacturer’s defects in the contraceptive methods it recommends.”
 
Novella also denounced the use of taxpayer funds to give “free publicity” to a specific company.  “Are there any economic or personal interests at work amongst the officials who have adopted this decision?” he asked.
 
The government in Catalonia already distributes sex-ed information at various outlets throughout the region, and it coordinated the distribution of 14,000 condoms on World AIDS Day.