Fury As Girls Get Morning After Pill By Text Message
SCHOOLGIRLS are to get secret advice on where find the morning- after pill by text message.
The new service means girls under the age of 16 will be able locate the nearest chemist supplying the pill, without their parents knowledge.
Last night, critics warned the scheme would put youngsters health at risk by allowing them to access sex advice on the move without adult input.
There were also fears the service could promote promiscuity and unprotected intercourse, fuelling Scotlands high rates of teenage pregnancy and abortion.
Record numbers of terminations are being carried out in Scotland, with roughly one a day performed on under-16s.
Last week, the Mail revealed the number had risen sharply in areas where health chiefs operate liberal sexual health schemes, such handing out morning-after pill free to schoolgirls without their parents knowledge.
The new text scheme has been launched by Schering, the pharmaceutical firm which manufactures Levonelle
emergency contraception which it claims can work up to 72 hours after e x .
Users t e x t the word chemist to a special number, then receive a reply containing addresses and contact details for nearby pharmacies.
Adverts for the scheme, which has just been launched across the UK and will initially be trialled for two months, stipulate in the small print that it is only suitable for people aged 16 and over. But Schering admits there is nothing to stop under-16s using it.
A growing number of pharmacists in Scotland are licensed to issue the morning-after pill free of charge over the counter to under-16s without parental consent.
They operate under a government scheme called Patient Group Direction, which allows some health boards to pilot controversial health reforms.
The scheme has been criticised for failing to curb teenage pregnancy and abortion in the areas where it has been tried out.
Simon Dames, spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, said: This turns the serious Baby: Teenage pregnancy and abortion rates are at record levels subject of guidance on sexual matters into a sinister, clandestine transaction over the ether.
I t i s nothing more than chemical abortion. It is clearly more about making money than giving health advice. Last week, the leader o f Scotlands Catholics questioned whether Catholic politicians who backed abortion could remain full members of the Church.
Cardinal Keith OBrien said the rate of terminations north of the Border was equivalent to two Dunblane massacres a day.
Yesterday, a private members Bill introduced at the House of Commons by Tory MP Ann Winterton, that would have required women to receive counselling before having an abortion, was rejected by MPs.
The text scheme closely mirrors an NHS initiative launched in Glasgow three years ago, when it emerged schoolgirls would be able to get advice on secret abortions by text message.
The same year, the Mail revealed the morning-after pill was being given to under-16s despite danger warnings from Schering.
The firm said under-16s were not psychologically mature enough to deal with the consequences of unprotected sex. Its own guidance also stipulated the drug should only be prescribed by doctors
a rule that is now being routinely flouted.
The new SNP administration at Holyrood is still committed to Labours policy of giving teenagers sex advice and promoting a v ai l a b i li t y o f emergency contraception despite mounting evidence of its failure.
Commenting on the new text scheme last night, a Schering spokesman said: The initiative simply helps women to locate nearby pharmacies where emergency hormonal contraception is available quickly and discreetly.
Advice from the pharmacist and the availability of emergency contraceptionwill be given in the usual way, in line with current clinical practice and guidelines.g. grant@dailymail.co.uk
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