Baroness Youngasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they consider that the decision by a major supermarket to make the morning-after pill available to girls under 16 encourages them to commit an offence of unlawful sexual intercourse. [HL4223]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathThere is no evidence that the provision of contraception encourages sexual activity. Emergency contraception is a safe and effective method of preventing unplanned pregnancy and is considered to have the same safety profile for under 16s as for older women. As there is evidence that the method is most effective when the first dose is taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex, early uptake is vital. The provision of emergency contraception through National Health Service funded pharmacy schemes, including pharmacies within supermarket chains, is one of the ways in which local areas are seeking to improve access.
Pharmacists providing emergency contraception to under-16s do so under the established legal framework for all health professionals. This involves assessing the young person's competence to understand the choices they are making and encouraging them to talk to their parents. Pharmacists are trained to ensure that young women are informed about and encouraged to visit local services that provide regular forms of contraception and condoms to protect against sexually transmitted infections.
The Government's Teenage Pregnancy Strategy recognises the importance of helping young people resist peer pressure to have early sex, while seeking to ensure that those who are sexually active have easy access to high quality contraceptive advice, including emergency contraception. Under-16s are at particular risk of unprotected sex. Although over a quarter are sexually active, they are less likely than older teenagers to access services and use contraception.
Baroness Youngasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they believe that widespread use of the morning-after pill will reduce the rate of unplanned pregnancy; and, if so, what has led them to that conclusion. [HL4224]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathEmergency hormonal contraception is a safe and effective method of preventing pregnancy when a woman has had unprotected sex or when she knows something has gone wrong with her usual method. Regular methods of contraception such as the pill or condoms should be the first choice to protect against unwanted pregnancy, but in emergency situations women should be able to access this product quickly and easily. Evidence from a World Health Organisation trial demonstrated that emergency contraceptive pills prevented 86 per cent of expected pregnancies when treatment was initiated within 72 hours of unprotected sex. However this rose to 95 per cent when the first dose was taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex. We therefore want to 69WA ensure the best possible access to emergency contraception for those that need it.
Increased availability of emergency contraception should be seen in the context of a much wider programme of work we are undertaking to reduce the high number of unwanted pregnancies in this country through the Sexual Health and HIV Strategy and the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy. This includes improving access to contraceptive services and the range of contraceptive products that are available.