Readers will remember back in November 2010 it was announced that a pilot scheme on the Isle of Wight, allowing girls as young as 13 access to the contraceptive pill without having to see a doctor or informing their parents, was launched.
Teenagers on the Island (and in Manchester) were able to pick up a month’s supply of the contraceptive pill, without the need of a prescription from one of ten Island chemists taking part in the scheme.
Following the pilot and another by NHS South East London, it’s been recommended that the trial be extended to other pharmacies around the country. The recommendation is that it also be offered to teenagers aged between 13 and 16.
Impact on teenage pregnancy unclear
However, data on teenage pregnancies for the last three years is not yet available, making it unclear as to whether the pilot for teenagers was successful.
Dr Peter Saunders of the Christian Medical Fellowship criticised the London study telling the BBC, “There is no clear evidence from this study that it will reduce unplanned pregnancy and abortion and there is a real risk that, by encouraging more risk-taking behaviour, it could fuel the epidemic of sexually-transmitted disease.”
As well as the comments on the original article, the pilot raised many comments from readers on Facebook.
