POSITION OF THE CATHOLIC ASSOCIATION OF POLISH DOCTORS ON THE STATEMENT OF THE PRESIDIUM OF THE SUPREME MEDICAL COUNCIL ON THE MANDATORY IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SUBJECT “HEALTH EDUCATION” IN POLISH SCHOOLS.


Dear Dr. Łukasz Jankowski, President of the Supreme Medical Council 18 January 2025

Dear Mr. President, we were deeply concerned about the “absolute” support of the Presidium of the Supreme Medical Council to maintain the compulsory nature of the new subject “Health Education” (EZ) in Polish primary and secondary schools, expressed in Position No. 4/25/P-IX, of January 14, 2025. [1] However, the very next day, this position turned out to be pointless, because the Minister of Education, Barbara Nowacka, announced that this subject would be optional.

This decision is the result of numerous public appearances by parents concerned about their children, whose physical, mental and spiritual health is seriously threatened by the content of the curriculum of this subject. Many institutions and non-governmental organizations also expressed their critical attitude towards the core curriculum of the EZ, especially the part of it that referred to the issue of preparing young people for future functioning in the family and sex education. The Catholic Association of Polish Doctors also criticized in its statement on November 11, 2024, both some of the curriculum content of the EZ and the intention to make the subject mandatory in schools. The arguments contained there remain valid, we will not quote them again. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with them. [2]

In this situation, we urge our Dear Colleagues from the Supreme Medical Council to also revise their enthusiastic approach to the outdated mandatory introduction of a new subject, as the Minister did. Below are arguments that can help you with this. We focus on medical matters, in which we all feel competent as doctors, and we do not shy away from arguments of a general human and civic nature.

The content of the Position of the Presidium of the NRL does not refer to the issues that were the subject of mass social protests. The authors of the Position Statement do not seem to notice the enormous health damage that is associated with the mandatory or optional introduction of the proposed curriculum content of the EZ subject relating to permissive sex education[3] and the sexualization of children. They will also threaten the proper functioning of the families that young people will start in the future and the health of future generations.

Below we briefly present the consequences for physical, mental and spiritual health that will inevitably occur if the subject of EZ together with its part concerning the area of human sexuality is introduced into schools in a compulsory or optional way. They can be found in medical textbooks.

  1. It should be emphasized that most of the curriculum content of the new subject, referring to the promotion of health-promoting behaviors among students, the development of appropriate habits, and the necessary care for health, should be included in school education as part of the existing subjects. The content and manner of presenting these important issues, which is present in the core curriculum of the EZ subject, would require many corrections and additions. For example, the core curriculum pays attention to the prevention of obesity and metabolic syndrome, but ignores the problem of underweight, which affects many girls and has a very negative impact on health (anaemia, osteoporosis, avitaminosis, menstrual cycle disorders).
  2. The core curriculum does not mention or explain the concept of procreative health, referring to all aspects of procreation in people of both sexes. Good procreative health, a proper maturation process, the possibility of fertilization, proper pregnancy and childbirth are crucial for every person, every family and very important for the next generations of every community. There is not a word about the need to observe the menstrual cycle in order to detect health disorders and assess fertility. There is no mention of the WHO-recognized methods of directing fertility naturally. The need to prepare for future procreation is completely ignored, which allows to reduce the frequency of infertility, malformations of the child, miscarriages and other complications of pregnancy. Instead, we speak of “natural contraception”, and it is known that all contraception is inherently unnatural.
  3. We believe that it is necessary to bring up children and young people in the spirit of respect for human dignity, care for physical, mental and spiritual health, affirmation of fertility and care for it, respect for human life throughout its duration from the moment of conception. Pro-health education connected with human sexuality, its bonding and parental function should be a part of education in schools, leading to maturity. It should shape a positive image of parenthood and family, counteract factors which, acting on a young, defenceless body, may lead to insurmountable consequences in the future: infertility, cancer, chronic ailments, obstetric failures. And these can and will be the effects of premature sexual initiation, disordered relationships in this area, sexually transmitted diseases, addictions.
  4. The acceptance and promotion of the egoistic, consumerist attitude proposed in EZ encourages young people to look for new sensations, to take care of their own comfort and pleasure. The other person exists to give “permission.” In the core curriculum of EZ the word “love” is not mentioned even once, and the greatest attention is paid to a satisfying sex life. In this way, an egocentric approach to these matters is formed in adult life. The separation of the sexual sphere from the whole system of values of family, cultural and civilizational life causes sex to take on an instrumental character, to become an end in itself.
  5. For incomprehensible and harmful to human health, the view that the good functioning of man in the modern world depends on the common acceptance of accepted good customs and cultural patterns is being fought. Without logical justification, great attention is paid to the so-called stereotypes referring to the sexual sphere, to their alleged “negative impact on human development and interpersonal relationships” and ways to counteract them are discussed. It was not specified what these harmful stereotypes would be about. Probably teachers are supposed to define at their discretion what is and what is not a ‘gender stereotype’, so that non-governmental organizations, companies producing contraceptives boldly enter schools and fight stereotypes as they understand them without consulting parents. It is possible that some of the “stereotypes” adopted for generations should be modified, but encouraging students to reject all customs, elements of culture and morality in the area of gender and procreation, such as tenderness or love, is a symptom of revolutionary fervor, very dangerous for the physical, mental and spiritual health of society.
  6. In the core curriculum of EZ there are very dangerous references to the psychosexual orientation of children and adolescents. Changes in the body appearance of boys and girls during puberty are listed together, without dividing into male and female sexes. At all costs, without rationality of the message, it was emphasized that gender is something unstable, subject to change. It also states that “the student discusses the structure and basic functions of the internal and external genitalia” as if there were only one type of these organs, and it is well known that there are two. There is a sentence that “the student discusses the concept of psychosexual orientation and the directions of its development”, suggesting that this orientation is something that develops over time, fluid, changing in different and arbitrary directions. Then the possible directions of this development are given, which the student can follow and change at will: heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual, cis sexuality, transgender. Passing on such “knowledge” without commentary can lead to tragic consequences for young people indoctrinated by this kind of “health education”: gender dysphoria and the resulting attempts to change sex at the cost of irreversible damage to health.
  7. In the description of the subject of EZ, the word “family” is used very rarely, as if for its creators it was irrelevant in the upbringing of the young generation. The school, the local community and even the Homeland are mentioned, but the family does not seem to exist. However, since in the social consciousness the family exists as a very important place of growth and upbringing, this kind of approach of the authors of the core curriculum should be treated as a desire to gradually reduce the importance of the family among students and then eliminate it from the life of the next generations. Various “family models” are listed, treating them all equally. The Constitution of the Republic of Poland does not mention any different models of the family. In the EZ program it was written that the student knows the rights of the child and the duties of parents, but there is no mention of the rights of parents, as if they did not exist or were to be irrelevant to the student.

Dear Mr. President, the entire text of the core curriculum of EZ deserves criticism. Unfriendly language, excessive use of words of foreign origin, emphasis on promoting an egoistic approach among students, taking into account primarily their own benefit and pleasure. The words “friendship” and “love” are almost non-existent in it. Free sexual behaviour is promoted, decisions made in the sexual sphere are to have no moral qualification. The student is to receive knowledge about sex and contraception and use it as he wishes. [4]

The positive assessment of egoism, the marginalization of ethical, family and religious values and norms, and the anti-natalist character of the proposed model, in which the phrase “procreative health” does not exist, are unacceptable.

Sex education should provide students with knowledge about the differences in the bodies of men and women, the differences in the psyche of both sexes, it cannot be detached from the world of feelings, it should not suppress the natural sensitivity or shame of young people, and gender issues should be treated as a value and good. It should include references to the system of values and moral norms. such as: human dignity, respect for the partner, respect for life. In this way, by developing responsibility towards sexuality and interpersonal relationships that arise on its basis, it will contribute to the harmonious development of the student’s personality, his or her knowledge, emotions, culture, sensitivity, kindness, love, and the ability to share these values with others.

Through you, we appeal to all our fellow doctors, especially to those representing us in the bodies of the Medical Self-Government, to speak out on matters related to the health-promoting education of children and young people in the spirit of their real benefits, bearing in mind the good health of themselves, and in the future of their families and future generations.

Sincerely, on behalf of the Catholic Association of Polish Doctors:

  1. Prof. Bogdan Chazan, specialist in gynaecology and obstetrics, Vice-President of the Catholic Association of Polish Doctors, (KSLP)
  2. Elżbieta Kortyczko, MD, PhD, neonatology and paediatrics specialist, President (KSLP)
  3. Grażyna Rybak, PhD, paediatrics specialist, President of the Mazovian Branch of the KSLP (OM KSPL)
  4. Andrzej Niemirski, MD, Internal Medicine Specialist, Family Medicine Specialist, President of the Radom Branch of the KSLP (OR KSLP)
  5. Prof. Jerzy Jurkiewicz, specialist in neurosurgery, Chairman of the Peer Court of KSLP
  6. Marzenna Koszańska, PhD, paediatrics specialist, Vice-President of OM KSLP
  7. Małgorzata Kępińska, MD, PhD, neonatology and paediatrics specialist, Delegate of the KSLP Regional Medical Centre
  8. Marzena Grzybowska, PhD, specialist in neurology, Secretary of the KSLP Municipal Office
  9. Barbara Antoniak, PhD, gynaecologist, Gynaecology and Obstetrics Section of KSLP
  10. Izabela Pakulska, PhD, internal medicine specialist, member of KSLP

with the support of other medical organizations:

  1. Elżbieta Puacz, MD, PhD, microbiology specialist, public health specialist,
  2. President of the Catholic Association of Laboratory Diagnosticians,
  3. Małgorzata Prusak, Ph.D., theologian, M.A., pharmacy specialist, Master of Theology,
  4. President of the Association of Catholic Pharmacists of Poland,
  5. Tadeusz Wadas, Ph.D., M.A., M.A., Health, Ph.D., specialist in anesthesia and intensification of therapy, President of the Catholic Association of Polish Nurses and Midwives
  6. Anna Szopa-Tyszecka, PhD, pulmonology specialist, Holy Family Medical Community
  7. Stanisław Nitek, MD, PhD, otolaryngology specialist, Holy Family Medical Community

[1] https://nil.org.pl/aktualnosci/8743-obowiazkowa-edukacja-zdrowotna-w-szkolach-klucz-do-budowania-zdrowego-spoleczenstwa

[2] https://kslp.pl/11-xi-2024-stanowisko-katolickich-stowarzyszen-medycznych-wobec-prob-wdrozenia-systemowej-deprawacji-seksualnej-dzieci/

[3] Sex education according to the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) is type A, B and C. Type A (abstinence-only sex education) is education for sexual abstinence of adolescents, premarital chastity and marital fidelity, and this was implemented in Poland in the form of the school subject “education for family life”. Type B (biological education) is biological sex education, without references to ethical values. Type C (comprehensive sexual education)permissive, it mainly includes type B education and knowledge about contraception, “safe sex”, consent to intercourse, “safe abortion” and pleasure.

[4] Analysis by the Ordo Iuris Institute: – https://ordoiuris.pl/edukacja/antyrodzinna-permisywna-edukacja-seksualna-pod-pozorem-nauki-o-zdrowiu-barbara-nowacka