Royal condom plan helps Paris teens
Free contraception and medical test vouchers scheme, launched by Ségolène Royal, taken up in Ile-de-France
AROUND 160,000 teens in the Paris area now have access to a “Pass Santé Contraception”, a pack of sexual health and contraception vouchers.
The scheme by the Socialist-led Ile-de-France region is similar to one launched in 2009 by Socialist presidential hopeful Ségolène Royal.
The “pass” consists of six vouchers, delivered by the school nurse, allowing for doctor’s visits, medical tests and contraceptives. Young people will be able to make use of them anonymously.
The scheme is meant to make up for the fact that people under 18 do not have their own cartes vitales (for accessing state healthcare reimbursements) and need to tell their parents if they want to be reimbursed.
The fact many of them do not wish to discuss delicate sexual matters with their parents is thought to contribute to around 13,500 abortions for girls under 18 in France each year.
Ile-de-France president Jean-Paul Huchon, who launched the scheme in a Paris lycée, reassured parents that the measure would be “carefully regulated” and contraceptives would not be “given out like sweets”.
However according to parents’ federation Peep, which opposes the idea, it “excludes parents” and “discredits them as educators”.
Royal sends condom vouchers to teens
