UK Schools Handing Out Morning-After Pill to Students of All Ages

By Terry VanderheydenNORWICH, GREAT YARMOUTH, UK, August 9, 2006

(LifeSiteNews.com) – UK schoolgirls are being handed the morning-after pill in an effort to reduce teen pregnancy rates in a region with one of the highest in Western Europe.According to a Norwich Evening News report, two schools in Norwich and five in Great Yarmouth have begun distribution of the abortifacients to girls below the age of consent, which is 16 years of age in Great Britain. The schools' on-site permanent sexual health clinics, which employ so-called family planning workers, are possible because of tax funding through the Norwich Primary Care Trust and are part of a 10-year plan to reduce teen pregnancy rates. Norfolk teenage pregnancy strategy unit Lead Officer Becky Oliver said the program is available to girls as young as 11. “This confidential service is available to young people in all years at the participating schools and has the full support of the schools management and governing bodies.”New rules introduced in April this year allow girls as young as 12 to be given the morning-after pill over the counter in pharmacies across the country without the knowledge of their parents.