An influential group of NHS experts is urging the Scottish Government to allow the morning-after pill to be handed out in schools (See reports by BBC, Scotsman and Scottish Herald) But the push has faced criticism from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland for being […]

School contraceptive jabs to 13 year-olds without parental consent – a dangerous and ill-informed strategy
School nurses have given implants or jabs to girls aged between 13 and 16 more than 900 times in the past two years, a survey by The Daily Telegraph has found. Girls aged 13 have been given contraceptive jabs and implants on more than 20 […]

Teenage pregnancies – three responses to three false presuppositions
A couple of years ago Peter Saunders wrote that current government sexual health strategies for tackling teenage pregnancies are primarily based on three false presuppositions: that contraception is safe, that youngsters will actually use it and that abstinence is impossible. I recently blogged that the […]

What economics can tell us about teen pregnancy rates
In the past forty years over £250 million has been spent by policy makers on numerous initiatives aimed at cutting teenage pregnancy rates in the UK, yet with almost negligible effect. Some would no doubt argue that this money is well spent, in preventing the […]

Is restrictive abortion legislation ineffectual, as new research claims?
According to a number of newspaper articles last week, abortion rates are unaffected by legislation. In other words, countries with more restrictive abortion laws have pretty much the same rates as those with very few restrictions. The news headlines read: ‘Countries with restricted access to […]