The objectives of the study were to characterize the activities developed by the health professionals, especially the nurses, in the performance of the family planning program; to analyze health professional's behavior concerning integration of men in these activities and, to discuss the ethical dimension of the behavior toward the integration of men in the Program. The methodological approach was qualitative, the study is descriptive and the method is dialectic, using the discourse analysis. Nine health professionals, included in the public health scenery, have participated in the study. It was observed that the policy of bringing men to the center of discussion in the Family Planning groups is patent in the Program proposal, but, in practice, is a failure. The nurses and social assistants, during the educational performance, live with limits and possibilities and, the more they live that dialectic tension, the more they will be prepared to overcome those situations of difficult solution.
Nursing; Family planning; Ethics