California public libraries offer condoms and lube to children without parental consent

A dozen public libraries in California’s capital city have displays from Planned Parenthood that distribute free contraception, including condoms. 

These displays at Sacramento Public Library locations, in a city of over 500,000, are in the main hubs of various libraries, making them accessible to children, CBS News reports. 

“It’s a little shocking,” parent Michael Reed told the network. “It’s not the place where I would think about sex education going on. It seems a little inappropriate to target children in that way.” 

Another parent, Dream Gibson agrees, seeing the content as suitable for adults. 

“I think exploring sexuality is healthy, but for a four-year-old, not necessarily the best thing,” Gibson said in the report. “To have it be publicly displayed for any and everyone to view, I don’t think it’s necessarily appropriate.” 

The California Family Council (CFC) opposes the displays, which they say “contain condoms, pregnancy tests, dental dams, lubricant, and graphic sex-ed materials, accessible to minors without restriction, supervision, or parental knowledge.” 

Greg Burt, Council president, calls it a “grotesque violation of parental rights.” 

“Parents take their children to the library expecting books – not a sexual health free-for-all,” he said. “Condoms and lubricant have no place in the hands of children, especially without their parents’ knowledge or consent.” 

The arrays include signage asking, “Having sex? How safe are you?”  

They also encourage visitors to scan a QR code linking them to a Planned Parenthood sex-ed landing page that says, “Start your journey and get the info you need in a way that’s actually interesting,” language that appears targeted at children and teens. 

The family council wants the libraries to remove the displays. 

“Public institutions should be partnering with parents, not undermining them,” Burt said. “This program is a reckless abandonment of common sense, parental authority, and childhood innocence.” 

At least one public institution, however, is keeping Planned Parenthood off of its premises. 

The Kentucky Science Center in Louisville recently announced the abortion provider is no longer welcome to distribute materials after it handed out coloring books depicting genitalia to children as young as 8, WDRB reported. This happened during a March 21 event at the center for elementary and middle school students. 

“We sincerely apologize for the distribution of a Planned Parenthood coloring book at our recent Health & Wellness Days event,” the science center wrote in a Facebook post. “Planned Parenthood provided this material without our consent and it does not reflect our policies or the intended content for the event.” 

Planned Parenthood claimed the books were handed out by mistake. 

“We have learned that a staff member inadvertently distributed an item that wouldn’t typically be used in a setting like this event, along with many other accurate and age-appropriate materials. While all material at the event was medically accurate, we apologize for this error and are reviewing our internal protocols,” a spokesperson said in a statement. 

However, an upset mother said the organization’s conduct was unacceptable, even if it was an accident. 

Heather Terry told WDRB her 9-year-old daughter returned from the field trip with the book. 

“I don’t care where the content came from,” Terry said. “I didn’t even know if it came from Planned Parenthood. I just know she’d gotten it at the science center and it said Planned Parenthood on it.  

“My concern was the material itself and the content inside for my child personally. I feel like that’s something I should have control over – when she sees and how she gets that information, not just given out freely because she walked up and someone says, ‘Here, do you want a coloring book?'”