Mexico's National Parents Union accuses Federal Government of promoting Promiscuity

The National Union of Parents (UNPF) accused the Federal Government of promoting sexual promiscuity through the National Health Card for children and adolescents and texts with sexual and reproductive content endorsed by the Secretary of Public Education.

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If my child of 12 or 13 years of age goes to any government health facility they can receive any amount of condoms they want, regardless of how we are educating them, regardless of what we consider to be proper sexual education. They are violating our parental rights to choose the education of our children.

-Mother in of the National Union of Parents

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The National Health Card for children and teenagers, aged 10-19, was distributed by the Ministry of Public Education to over 20 million children at the beginning of the school.

According to the Health Ministry the card was developed by a technical group in the area of health promotion which depends on the Undersecretary of Prevention and Promotion, in conjunction with specialists from the SEP.

In addition to containing themes of health promotion in nutrition, vaccination schedule, prevention and control of diseases and oral health, the booklet has a section on sexual and reproductive health, which included phrases like "Family Planning is your right" and "If you had unprotected sex and it has not been more than 72 hours, you can request emergency contraception, protect yourself, it's your right!"

The new health cards allows the adolescent to request information about contraceptive methods which can be used before and after childbirth and recommends the use of condoms in every sexual encounter for protection against HIV / AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.

For the Archbishop José Guadalupe Martín Rábago, the new health card and it's texts promoting sexual rights, will lead not only to the fomentation of hedonism and uncontrolled sexuality amongst children but will also invite these children to have uncontrolled, irresponsible sexual encounters by offering condoms and the morning after pill. Because of this, he too, has joined in the voices of protest, and demands the health cards be revoked.

The Secretary of Health, José Ángel Córdova Villalobos, has assured the Parenting Union that he will consider reevaluating the cards, but will not be retracting the millions of health cards which have already been delivered nor will the Secretary of Health, regardless of possible changes made to the card, discontinue the distribution of birth control adding:

They (birth control options) are and will continue to be available every public health center, I insist that it is a womans choice, and as an authority we must make them available, of course when it comes to a minor child, they must come accompanied by a parent or legal guardian for some of the services to be made available.

-José Ángel Córdova Villalobos

A specialist in reproductive health and family orientation, Guadalupe Torres Gómez, states the federal government's approach to sex education has and will continue failing because it continues to offer anti-contraceptives, when it should be sustained and based on values.