Wednesday July 17, 2002

SEX EDUCATION STRATEGY QUESTIONED IN BRITAIN

LONDON, England, July 17, 2002 (LSN.ca) - British Parliamentarians have called for a review of the country's policies for "reducing teenage pregnancies," pointing out that Britain has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Europe. Meanwhile, a university study has found that current policies may actually increase teen pregnancies and abortions.

The Labour government's Department of Health defended its policies, including wide availability of condoms, the pill and the morning-after pill alongside explicit "sex education."

But MP's and peers -- both pro-life and pro-abortion -- said the strategy now in use may be doing more harm than good. It may be, they said, that "wide-scale family planning facilities for the young increase rather than diminish sexual activities and conceptions among underage girls."

Meanwhile, Dr. David Patton of Nottingham University has shown that the number of girls attending family clinics increased by 144% between 1992 and 2000, while prescriptions for the morning-after pill tripled in the same period. However, conception rates actually rose during this period by just under 1% while sexually transmitted diseases among 16-to-19-year-old females had increased by 58%.

To read BBC coverage see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_2132000/2132265.stm

URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/jul/02071706.html

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