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'Head-in-the-Sand Medicine'
Westminster, 25 August 2000--The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has accused the Southern Derbyshire Health Authority of cynically misleading the public over suggestions that a scheme to make the morning-after pill available from pharmacists without a doctor's prescription will address the high rate of teenage pregnancy in the area.
It was announced today that the trial will initially involve seven
pharmacies in the Amber Valley area. Similar trials are already
underway in Manchester and south London.
John Smeaton, national director of SPUC, said: "The health
authority claims that the scheme will reduce unwanted pregnancy, but
evidence suggests that it will lead to greater levels of teenage
pregnancy and abortion, as well as permanent damage to young minds and
society in general. The scheme is not evidence-based medicine, but
head-in-the-sand medicine. The morning-after pill has been heavily
promoted for years and freely available on prescription, but during
that time the numbers of unwanted pregnancies and abortions have in
fact increased."
Mr Smeaton stressed that it was wrong to present the
morning-after pill as a contraceptive because it worked as an
abortifacient. He observed: "The morning-after pill makes the womb
hostile to any newly-conceived baby and, as such, can cause an
abortion. Many women would think twice about using the drug if they
knew this fact. To make the morning-after pill even more freely
available without making known its true nature is an insult to women."
Criticising the health authority's statement that the pills
will be given to girls under the age of 16 if the pharmacist considers
them to be "competent", Mr Smeaton is asking the authority to explain
what legal basis they have for such a plan. He suggested that
pharmacists will be required to co-operate in the illegal activity of
sex with underage girls. Pointing out that 122 girls under the age of
16 have requested the pill in the Manchester trial area, Mr Smeaton
continued: "Common sense suggests that the easier availability of the
morning-after pill will leave under-age teenage girls at greater risk
of sexual abuse and under greater pressure to engage in casual sex."
Mr Smeaton also pointed out the various side-effects of the
morning-after pill, which include severe nausea, vomiting, tender
breasts and blood-clotting. There may also be a risk of ectopic
pregnancies which are a significant cause of maternal death. He
continued: "By offering women only a brief consultation and dispensing
the pill without reference to her medical history, serious medical
problems could result."
Mr Smeaton concluded: "This move by the Southern Derbyshire Health Authority is both irresponsible and potentially highly damaging to the health of local women."
