Gosh! Who'd have thunk it?
What a surprise:
Teenage pregnancies have risen fastest in areas of the country where the Government has specifically targeted resources to reduce them, a new survey has revealed.
The report, to be published tomorrow, says that the explicit sex education leaflets and free condoms provided to under-age girls by the Government schemes have simply encouraged them to have sex.
... There has also been a 62 per cent increase in the number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases among young people aged 19 and under, rising from 25,143 cases in 1997 to 40,821 in 2002.
... One guide, called "4 Girls", tells teenagers how to obtain contraception, explains sexually transmitted diseases, and gives reassuring advice about sex. Another leaflet tells young girls: "Contraceptive advice and supplies are free to everyone. It doesn't matter how old you are . . . there's no right age to have sex."
Mrs Riches said: "The Family Planning Association sows confusion in a child's mind about right and wrong and presents only one moral absolute - the use of condoms."
The report points out that the promotion of abstinence among young people in America has lead to a drop in teenage pregnancies by 10 per cent.
UPDATE: Susanne Fields outlines the alternative.
