Sex education blocked  as child pregnancies soar

Pregnancies among Panama aged 10-19 years continue to climb with a total of 10,405 entering pre-natal control facilities of the Ministry of Health (Minsa) in 2018. An increase of 528 over 2017 when  9,912 were registered as pregnant. The figures do not include admissions to Social Security or private hospitals.

The Minsa report document specifies that the Ngäbe Buglé (1,872), San Miguelito (1,752) and Chiriquí (1,584) regions are the areas of the country with the highest incidence of pregnancies.

From 2014 to 2018 there were 53,361 pregnancies. The social problem continues to grow while the National Assembly dithers in spite of Pope Francis’s admonition of the need for sex education. Bill 61 which seeks to adopt public policies on integral education, health care and promotion, but has been sitting in the doldrums since 2014

Members of the Panamanian Coalition for Integral Education in Sexuality, the Panamanian Alliance for Life and the Family and the Panamanian Association for Family Planning regret that the proposal is was not approved, as a consensus was achieved after a series of meetings and changes to the legislative initiative.

Sex education is a need of the young population and this is what Pope Francis said during his visit to Panama the country for the World Youth Day. In his opinion, “the ideal is to start at home”, but since this is not always possible, the “school has to supply it”.

The legislative initiative was approved in the first debate in April of 2017 in the Commission of Integral Education, Attention and Promotion of the Health and recommended to the plenary session of the National Assembly for its discussion and approval in the second debate, but to date, it has not been retaken.

Since 2008, sex education has been subject to intense controversy three times in the country, since the presentation to the National Assembly of different bills that sought to adopt public policies related to inherent in the subject.

Debauchery
In  2008, a project proposed by the Minsa was rejected, because religious and civil society groups claimed that it incited youth to debauchery.

Three years later, in 2011, Democratic Change deputy party Marylín Vallarino interposed a new initiative, but it was stymied.

According to the sociologist and member of the Panamanian Coalition for Integral Education in Sexuality, Rubiela Sánchez, the legislative initiatives have not prospered, because the authorities govern based on their prejudices and beliefs, and not with a vision of a State based on human rights.