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Marriage and the family

One in ten under-age girls
go to contraception clinics

Last updated: 30 October 2007

Almost one in ten girls aged 15 or under went to contraception clinics in England last year, according to a new report New window icon from the Information Centre for Health and Social Care.

A total of 81,000 under-age girls attended the clinics. Of these, 31,000 were 13 and 14 year olds. Clinics dispensed 21,000 emergency contraceptives, including the powerful morning-after pill, to under-16s in 2006-07.

Sexually transmitted infections are increasing amongst teenagers and Britain's teenage pregnancy rates remain the highest in Western Europe.

Speaking in The Daily Telegraph New window icon, The Christian Institute's Mike Judge said: "We are letting down our kids by not empowering them to delay sexual activity. We need to give them some moral guidance and support. Most women who look back on their teenage years regret starting sexual activity so early."