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[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] 02 August 2010
One thousand girls on Pill at 11: Huge rise in contraceptive prescription for pre-teens without parents knowingI found this rally shocking and thought to myself it it right to allow this? and stop unwanted pregnancy's? or should this be stopped? I have set up a poll let see what you all think?
The number of pre-teenage girls on the Pill has increased fivefold in the past decade, shocking figures reveal.
Last year doctors prescribed the oral contraceptive to more than 1,000 girls aged 11 and 12, usually without their parents' knowledge.
Another 200 aged between 11 and 13 were given long-term implanted or injectable contraceptive devices on the NHS.
Family campaigners said the figures showed how children were being sexualised at an ever younger age and raised disturbing questions about the prevalence of underage sex.
Although the age of consent in Britain is 16, GPs are allowed to prescribe the Pill to children if they believe an underage girl is mature enough to have sex.
And under the laws of patient confidentiality, parents have no right to be told if their children are being given the Pill.
The figures come from the General Practice Research Database, a Department of Health-funded body which collects information on prescriptions from 500 GP practices covering a representative sample of four million patients.
They show that three in every 10,000 children aged 11 - and three out of every 1,000 12-year-olds - were prescribed the Pill last year. Across the whole of Britain, that works out at more than 1,000 children under the age of 13 and is a fivefold rise on 1999.
The database also reveals that at least 58,000 children aged 15 were on the Pill last year compared with 23,000 in 1999. Hundreds of children under 16 were using other forms of long-term contraception, the figures show.
Dr Trevor Stammers, a GP and chairman of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said Britain was allowing the 'sexualisation of young people at an ever younger age'.
He added: 'If sex education is introduced at primary schools in the way being proposed, we will see many more 11-year-olds seeking contraception and if we pay GPs to give out contraception without pointing out the risks we are going to make matters worse.'
Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said the rise in contraception among young girls reflected 'improved sex education' and access to doctors rather than a rise in sexual activity.
'The UK has an appalling teenage pregnancy rate and teenage abortion-rate,' he added. 'It was among the worst in Europe for many years and part of that was the lack of awareness in children about the risks of sex and pregnancy.
'I believe that the system has improved. There hasn't been an increase in sexual activity in young girls - this is about girls acting more maturely and coming to GPs for advice on contraception.'
The growing number of women GPs had also made it easier for girls to seek out advice on sex, he said.
The data doesn't show why GPs prescribed the Pill, which can be used to treat heavy periods and severe acne. However, Professor Field said there was no evidence that prescriptions for menstrual problems or spots were increasing.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence provoked a row recently when it called for primary school children to be given sex education lessons.
Mon Aug 02, 2010 3:44 pm
What on earth is going on with the world. These are children 
:. So can you blame them for wanting to test the waters -so to speak. 
Who sets standards for the child? 
Children will only do what you allow them to do. For instance, if you allow a 14/15 year old to have their boy/girlfriend living as part of your family, which appears to be the norm these days, than what do you expect. The responsibility is and should be on the parent to set the guidelines and standards for their child. Schools and other establishments can only enhance what standards are set from the beginning. 
