morning-after Pill by text

[AP]

Schoolgirls will be able to request the morning-after pill by text message in a scheme being introduced later this year.Six Oxfordshire schools are to take part in the project after a rise in the number of teenage pregnancies in the county.

Any girl at the four schools in Oxford and two in Banbury will be given the opportunity to ask for emergency contraception if they have had unprotected sex, or their contraception has failed.

Child protection staff will step in if any girl aged between 11 and 13 uses the service.

The text message service will be introduced in July by Oxfordshire County Council and the Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust, which have refused to name the schools involved.

Hilary Pannack, chief executive of teenage pregnancy charity Straight Talking, welcomed the move.

She said: "I think it's an excellent idea. But there needs to be more in place - there needs to be good quality sex and relationship education as well.

"Some girls won't want to talk to people face to face, and the process of getting the emergency contraceptive pill should be made easy for them. It's not going to cause promiscuity.

"If it means them not going through the trauma of abortion, then it's valuable."

Why bother with contraception if u can go get this pill.?

[ionnsaigh]

Prevention being better than cure.

[blueboyno1]

Just like ordering a pizza ,what next.

[ionnsaigh]

Less unwanted or wanted babies - less young girls having to go through the trauma of unexpected pregnancies. We have to start protecting our children - if that includes the morning after pill - so be it - who are we to moralise at the expense of our offspring.

[Lossit Lass]

"...She said: "I think it's an excellent idea. But there needs to be more in place - there needs to be good quality sex and relationship education as well...."

IMO, that is key. Full-bodied education, tho...open & honest, from parents to schools...from basic sex ed to contraceptive ed to abstinence-as-a-viable-option ed. I'm among those who are against Abstinence-only education, which we here in the US have recently had rescinded...the realists among us know that it just doesn't work. We learned in the past it didn't work but the Bush admin figured they'd give it another go (once again, pushing their own (misguided) agenda & ideologies) & not surprisingly, pregnancy rates went up again. We know that keeping information from kids doesn't keep them from having sex. We have to prepare our kids for any & all possible outcomes so they can make responsible, educated choices for themselves when/if the moment arises. If they remain abstinent then great, but if they choose to have sex then we want them to be fully armed with every option available to them...before & after...no?
Some options may be unsettling for parents but we have to keep in mind the alternative(s), & the fact that kids are becoming sexually active at a much younger age, than just 10 years ago even, meaning their maturity & their ability to foresee consequences is limited at best.

[blueboyno1]

Less unwanted or wanted babies - less young girls having to go through the trauma of unexpected pregnancies. We have to start protecting our children - if that includes the morning after pill - so be it - who are we to moralise at the expense of our offspring.

Do you not think this will encourage them to think it is alright to have unprotected sex when they think all the have to do is send a text the next day and they are ok. The whole point of safe sex is also to stop std and they wont do that with a pill .The best way to stop that is condoms ,but then the pope said that they are usless and are the cause of disease

The best contraceptive pill ,would be an aspirin as long as they hold it between their knees ,and thats not meant as a joke .

[katya]

Not quite sure how to follow that, but...
As a (then) grammar school pupil accompanying a friend to the clinic when she asked for emergency contraception, I can completely understand why this service is being offered. My friend was 17, using a reliable form of contraception (which failed), and (in my mind then - 14 years ago - and now) was being very sensible in seeking help.
She was given the emergency contraception, but when she initially explained the situation, was treated like something the duty nurse had trodden in.
I am quite sure there are some that may abuse the service, but it will be invaluable to many in a similar situation.
kx

[Lossit Lass]

Hi blueboy! Forgive me but I'm gonna cut in here

Do you not think this will encourage them to think it is alright to have unprotected sex when they think all the have to do is send a text the next day and they are ok.

"Encourage"? I don't believe so. A kid's decision to have unprotected sex will not be determined (generally) by the fact that there's a morning after pill option. Their decision to have protected or unprotected sex has everything to do with education. Sex educated kids know that even when alternate birth control (the pill, diaphragm, IUD, whatever) is being used, that condoms are still not optional.

The whole point of safe sex is also to stop std and they wont do that with a pill .The best way to stop that is condoms

Of course you're right. Again, education. It has to be ok to teach them EVERYTHING they need to know to protect themselves. Nothing should be off the table. They should have an arsenal of options, tools, places & people to turn to, when they feel the need...& if we assure them that ANYTHING they want to discuss is welcome, & will be treated with dignity, then they WILL come. But we have to follow thru with our promise because it'll take just one time of our berating & embarrassing them to put a halt to any future communications.

No delusion here, tho, clearly not every child makes it thru unscathed...but with our help, many, many will.

The best contraceptive pill ,would be an aspirin as long as they hold it between their knees ,and that's not meant as a joke .

Com'on, now, how is that not a joke. Even the sentiment is a joke


Don't mean to target your post, blueboy...just worked out that way
Discussion is good!!

[blueboyno1]

I think we already had this discussion under another name ,sex education . And i said then that when i was young we never had sex education and there was not anywhere near the amount of young girls falling pregnant .Now in this day and age when you have got sex education and pills for before and after sex there are much more cases .To me that is telling them it is ok to have sex.In my day it was the mans job to stop pregnancy ,thats is why we always carried condoms .If a girl went into a chemist for them she was called a loose woman for want of a better phrase.
As for the aspirin (joke)it was meant to emphsise if they kept their legs shut more often then they would not get pregnant.

[katya]

I think it was perfectly clear what you meant by the aspirin jibe/joke, but what I really don't understand is the constant onus on the female to not have any sexual relations...surely there is more than one person involved

[rtodd31]

hmmmmmmm takes two maybe they should create a pill for the male they have to take it if they're contemplating sex that night unprotected and they won't produce wee tadpoles for a day or so

and yip katya i agree with you there is more than one person involved

in some cases woman/girls have actually had the morning after pill to find months later when a baby makes a surprising entry to the world that it failed or they were carrying two same with abortion

[blueboyno1]

I rteally dont want ot offend anyone or start any sort of rammy .but i spent the day in greenock and i lost count of the amount of young girls around 15/16 who were pushing prams about sometimes in groups of threes and fours ,some of them seem to think it is some sort of fashion accessory.Gone is the fear and the stigma of pregnancy for young girls . I may be wrong and it is only my opinion ,but i think it is all the so called open attitude nowadays that has caused this .

[Lossit Lass]

As for the aspirin (joke)it was meant to emphasise if they kept their legs shut more often then they would not get pregnant.

Please. I got what u were insinuating, (& subsequently reiterated), you feel females are mainly to blame for unwanted pregnancies because by God if they just kept their legs shut..... Surely you don't think that's the answer? Or the problem??! (or is that "not a joke" as well )

...when i was young we never had sex education and there was not anywhere near the amount of young girls falling pregnant .

How can you be so sure? Statistics are sketchy at best. *When* girls got pregnant before marriage they were locked away until the matter was settled...however that may be. Few people were made aware, & it certainly wasn't reported.

Now in this day and age when you have got sex education and pills for before and after sex there are much more cases .To me that is telling them it is ok to have sex.

I completely disagree that promiscuity &/or unwanted pregnancies are the result of MORE sex ed or available bc! This doesn't tell them it's ok to have sex anymore than parents telling them NOT to works. It would appear that kids are more sexually active then in previous generations but whether that's actually true or not would be hard to say. They are definitely starting younger, tho. My thought is it's most likely a result of the massive shift in societal & global culture in the last few decades (the most aggressive changes we've seen in history, probably). Kids were (are) coming into a completely different world than what their parents & grandparents were familiar with, or were armed to raise them in, resulting in a parent-child cultural disconnect like no other generations...thereby resulting in less interaction between parent & child in most families, leaving the kids to find their own way. It was & still is up to the adults to change that, tho, not the kids.

In my day it was the mans job to stop pregnancy ,thats is why we always carried condoms .If a girl went into a chemist for them she was called a loose woman for want of a better phrase.

I would venture to say boys were using condoms no more often, & maybe less often, than they do now...whether they're carrying them or not.
As for female birth control, it was a godsend when it came on the market. We no longer had to be at the mercy of men in this area. Women finally had some control over what happened to them as a result of sex, with boyfriends or husbands (not to mention aggression, rape, incest). Btw, what boys thought of girls who purchased them, or condoms even, is WAY beside the point....but a great example of why women needed more say (& power) on the subject.




I don't know what the answer is. I DO know that cutting back on sex ed or contraceptives can't be it, tho, not logically. I guess all we can really do is take responsibility for our own kids. I'm in it now with my 12yo son & have been for a couple of years. It certainly reassures me knowing that despite what may or may not be taught to his peers, he'll be pretty knowledgeable (about what's involved & what's available to him) & able to make sound choices for himself, & therefore his partner(s). Whether he actually will or not is yet to be seen

[blueboyno1]

I don't know what the answer is. I DO know that cutting back on sex ed or contraceptives can't be it, tho, not logically. I guess all we can really do is take responsibility for our own kids. I'm in it now with my 12yo son & have been for a couple of years. It certainly reassures me knowing that despite what may or may not be taught to his peers, he'll be pretty knowledgeable (about what's involved & what's available to him) & able to make sound choices for himself, & therefore his partner(s). Whether he actually will or not is yet to be seen

Exactly my point where is the logic.You would think with all these types of birth control and sex education there would be less pregnancy ,is there? no way,it's getting worse. Example .My seventeen year old grand daughter who comes from a good family ,who has had all the school sex education ,who has had all the types of contreceptives taught to her by her mother .All the talks on the dangers of becoming pregnant ,has recently made ne a great grandfather at the ripe old age of 59. I dont think this would have happened if there was still the fear of pregnancy .As the old saying goes ,a little knowledge is a dangerous thing .Yes it is good that it is available to them but what are they doing with it.

[Lossit Lass]

Oh my...you're a g.grandpa at 59 Way too young, imo, too!! Sounds as if her mom did the best she could to steer her in a different direction, tho. I certainly wish her & your family the very best.

I think what is meant by the expression "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" is that too little knowledge is a BAD thing, that we need 'complete' knowledge (about a subject) to really be able to use it (the knowledge) correctly. Maybe you meant it that way? If not, & what you're stating is that even a little knowledge about certain subjects is not good to have, then I wholly disagree.
We know (you, 1st hand ) that kids ultimately make their own choices, some good, some bad, but personally I'd rather they make a fumbling choice *with knowledge* rather than without. I guess once we've fulfilled our obligations as a parent then what happens after that is beyond our control. At least then we can just accept it, knowing that it (whatever 'it' is) was apparently going to happen no matter what we did...even with a difficult outcome, that at least is somewhat comforting. As for myself, I would feel such parental guilt if I neglected to cover the bases with my kid...then what happens would be assumed a direct result of that neglect. That's just the way I see it. We as parent can only base our parenting on our own upbringing, opinions, reasonings, research, & the fact that we *know* our own child, & as long as our heart's in the right place then what will be, will be. The life-lessons are theirs to learn.