Panama City, Panama, Oct 30, 2008 / 14:35 pm
Panamanian presidential candidate Juan Carlos Varela has expressed his rejection of a proposed law on sexual and reproductive health that is currently before the country’s National Assembly and said that if the measure passes he would overturn it if elected.
“Governments are elected to govern for the benefit of all and not only for that of their supporters, let alone following internal or external tendencies that complicate life in common,” said Varela, who joined with his opponent Ricardo Martinelli in rejecting the measure.
Varela said the entire country should be allowed to debate the proposal and that it should not be put before the National Assembly. He said that approval of such a law would constitute an attack on the Panamanian family.
He called on President Martin Torrijos to ask the National Assembly to suspend discussion of the controversial measure, adding that the government should be promoting moral values instead of spending millions on publicity and electoral campaigns.
Recently, Archbishop Jose Dimas Cedeno of Panama City warned that the proposed law was inspired by gender ideology and would be an attack on the rights of parents to educate their children according to the own moral convictions.
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