Madrid, Spain, Jan 22, 2008 / 11:02 am
The independent Spanish organization, “Professionals for Ethics,” issued a press release last weekend criticizing the country’s Ministry of Health for a series of new measures against the authority of parents and the family.
Ramon Novella, a spokesman for the organization, denounced the Ministry’s plan to create an automatic internet response system to answer kids’ questions about sex. The Ministry claims the new system will allow young people to have “a confidential, private and non-embarrassing conversation” about their questions related to sexually transmitted diseases and contraceptives.
“With this measure the government is again interfering in the education of minors without the knowledge or consent of their parents and with no regard for their moral, religious or philosophical convictions,” Novella said.
“Its just another step towards indoctrinating our children and supplanting the fundamental educational role of the family, in keeping with other measures, such as the implementation of ‘Education for Citizenship,’ the suppression in the Civil Code of the power of parents to correct their kids, or as in the case of Catalonia, the programs on ‘Health and School’ and the distribution of sex-ed pamphlets,” he added.
Novella recalled the failure of previous sex-ed programs, inspired by the same principles and proposals, and said they have only “increased promiscuity and irresponsibility among teens and young people and have led to an increase in pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.” The organization cited recent statistics that show that abortions have skyrocketed by more than 300 percent among girls aged 15-19 between 1986 and 2005.
“Will the Ministry assume responsibility for the abortions that have take place as a result of the incorrect use or the manufacturing defects of the contraceptive methods recommended on its website?” Novella asked.
He called on families and all Spaniards to “express their rejection of this plan” and to defend “the right to educate their children in the face of government interference.”