(ZAGREB) - The European Parliament on Tuesday slammed a proposed conservative, Church-backed sex education program in Croatia, saying it encouraged discrimination.

In a letter sent to top Croatian officials, the EU parliament deputies voiced "concern regarding the potential implementation ... of a reproductive health and sexual curriculum put forward by the GROZD Association" of parents.

The program "supplies medically inaccurate and incomplete information about sexual and reproductive health and family planning as well as about available and legal contraceptive methods," read the letter seen by AFP.

"Implementing a curriculum encouraging stigma and discrimination" could jeopardise progress Croatia has made in over the issue, said the deputies, who are members of a working group on reproductive health.

They warned the proposed curriculum was "gender-biased and features negative attitudes towards homosexuality, thus contradicting Croatian laws which prohibit discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation."

The program proposed by the GROZD Association is backed by the Roman Catholic Church and is in line with Vatican teaching that there should be no sexual relations outside marriage, no safe sex, and no homosexuality.

It has been approved by Croatia's education ministry and needs the health ministry's approval in order to be introduced in elementary and secondary schools later this year.

Local non-governmental organisations have already urged authorities to reject the program because it was not based on scientific research and did not take into account statistics according to which Croatians have sex for the first time at an average age of 17.

Almost 90 percent of Croatia's population of 4.4 million are Roman Catholics.

Text and Picture Copyright 2007 AFP. All other Copyright 2007 EUbusiness Ltd. All rights reserved. This material is intended solely for personal use. Any other reproduction, publication or redistribution of this material without the written agreement of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden and any breach of copyright will be considered actionable.