Monday 7 December 2009

Prevent teen repeat abortions by opposing government bill

Today's Telegraph and Daily Mail report that, according to official statistics, over 5,000 under-20s had abortions in 2008. The figures were revealed in response to a parliamentary question by Anne Milton, a shadow health minister.

It is refreshing to read Mrs Milton's reported comment on abortion:
"Abortions can be incredibly traumatic for women and terminating an unwanted pregnancy can have a damaging effect on mental health."
One of Mrs Milton's proposed solutions to the revolving door of teenage repeat abortions is improved government information on contraception. Yet, as Dr Judith Bury, former director of Edinburgh's Brook Advisory Centre, an abortion referral agency, admitted:
"There is overwhelming evidence that, contrary to what you might expect, the availability of contraception leads to an increase in the abortion rate."
(1)
"Sex Education for Bureaucrats", The Scotsman, 29 June, 1981
I agree, however, with Mrs Milton that the phenomenon of repeat abortions among teenagers is a consequence of the government's teenage pregnancy and sexual health strategy. As Christine Hudson of SPUC Plymouth wrote for this blog last month:
"Abortion and the abortifacient morning-after pill are the lynchpins of the government’s teenage pregnancy strategy. The aim is to rid children and young women of unplanned pregnancies. These pregnancies are the result of sexual activity encouraged by government and our society, with little or no attention paid to the age of consent."
The government's proposals for compulsory sex education will result in even more promotion of abortion in schools. If the Conservative party opposition wishes to halt the rise in teenage abortions, then it must block the government's proposals, contained in the Children, Schools and Families bill. Likewise, the Catholic Education Service (CES) in England and Wales must reverse its general support for compulsory sex education.

Teenage abortions will not start falling until the right of parents to act as the primary educators of their children, recognised in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is manifested in law and policy. Please act now to stop the government's compulsory sex education and its anti-life agenda - please read and respond to SPUC's campaign alert.

Comments on this blog? Email them to johnsmeaton@spuc.org.uk
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