Southampton girls as young as 13 could get contraceptive jabs (From Daily Echo)
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Southampton girls as young as 13 could get contraceptive jabs
12:20pm Tuesday 18th November 2008 in
-
- By Clare Kennedy » Health Reporter
GIRLS as young as 13 could soon get long term contraceptive jabs at school as part of plans to curb Southampton’s high teenage pregnancy rates.
Government ministers have recommended the city’s council and health chiefs increase the uptake of injections and implants at school-based clinics.
Under the proposed scheme, teenagers would be able to receive the injections without having to tell their parents.
The city is one of 21 in the UK identified as a teenage pregnancy hotspot by the Government which has sent out a series of letters recommending city and health chiefs take “urgent action” to reduce teen pregnancies.
The letters call for more “school-based contraception clinics” and “an overall increase in the uptake of long-acting reversible contraception” that can make girls infertile for periods ranging from three months up to three years.
Officials claim that using long-lasting injections and implants rather than daily pills would make it easier for young girls to control their fertility.
Charlotte Bemand, Southampton’s teenage pregnancy boss, said the jabs were not currently available at the city’s secondary schools.
She refused to say whether it was something the city would be introducing until a six-month review of sexual services had been completed next January.
However, she added that long acting reversible contraception was already available to teenagers in colleges and sexual health drop-in centres.
She said: “Our focus is around our biggest age group of conception which is 16 to 17. That is why we are putting the focus around long acting methods of contraception with drop-in sessions at college sites such as Southampton City College and Itchen.”
See today's Daily Echo for the full story
Comments(35)
Cazzy
says...
10:57am Tue 18 Nov 08
Georgem
says...
11:10am Tue 18 Nov 08
emdee
says...
11:22am Tue 18 Nov 08
damned if you do and damned if you don't!
and on a lighter note, thank god someone is doing something said this father of 3 sons.
so many of these young girls aspire to having a baby and getting a council flat, its so sad!
AngrySotonResident
says...
11:22am Tue 18 Nov 08
10 Minute Man
says...
11:30am Tue 18 Nov 08
And medication of children is the realm of parental responsiblity along with the family doctor - not the school.
Georgem
says...
11:38am Tue 18 Nov 08
AngrySotonResident wrote:But to not do it would increase teen pregnancy. There isn't an easy answer to this, is there?
This will only encourage unsafe sex. STI's with soar and these children will suffer with infatility in the future.
Denzil
says...
12:42pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Georgem
says...
1:00pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Sly Stallone
says...
1:05pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Denzil
says...
1:13pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Georgem wrote:Keep telling yourself that.
Don't worry, Denzi. I doubt you'll ever be blamed/credited with impregnating anybody
Sly Stallone
says...
1:25pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Denzil wrote:dONT you guys have careers to go to?
Georgem wrote: Don't worry, Denzi. I doubt you'll ever be blamed/credited with impregnating anybodyKeep telling yourself that.
Denzil
says...
1:41pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Sly Stallone wrote:I'm guessing Georgem is unemployed by the attitude which he displays on this website, either that or he is old and retired. I'm getting paid for posting thanks.
Denzil wrote:dONT you guys have careers to go to?Georgem wrote: Don't worry, Denzi. I doubt you'll ever be blamed/credited with impregnating anybodyKeep telling yourself that.
10 Minute Man
says...
2:02pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Denzil wrote:Reading your posts,I hope its not performance related pay.
Sly Stallone wrote:I'm guessing Georgem is unemployed by the attitude which he displays on this website, either that or he is old and retired. I'm getting paid for posting thanks.
Denzil wrote:dONT you guys have careers to go to?Georgem wrote: Don't worry, Denzi. I doubt you'll ever be blamed/credited with impregnating anybodyKeep telling yourself that.
Miles Sway
says...
2:03pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Sly Stallone wrote:My guess, Sly, is that the girls who want to do the Social security thing will avoid the injections anyway so they can still get pregnant - you can't force them to have the injection which is a shame but against their human rights.
Should these jabs be given to the teenage girls in Millbroke Towers? Or is it to late by then? When I was in the U of K I remember hearing stories of 14 year olds getting pregnant in order to be housed by your council in Millbroke Towers. Surely if these girls are given the injection at school, it would help to solve the housing problem over there, and those that genuinly deserve accommodation would go to the top of the list, rather than some 14 year old single, absent father type girl who will spend her life taking from your welfare state, (like her mother probably did and still does). Did the elevator ever get fixed at Millbroke Towers?
obelisker
says...
2:04pm Tue 18 Nov 08
goard
says...
2:17pm Tue 18 Nov 08
goard
Georgem
says...
2:33pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Denzil wrote:Well, I've commented on the actual story, rather than just make a predictable joke. Stick that in your non-existent house in Chilworth and smoke it
Sly Stallone wrote:I'm guessing Georgem is unemployed by the attitude which he displays on this website, either that or he is old and retired. I'm getting paid for posting thanks.
Denzil wrote:dONT you guys have careers to go to?Georgem wrote: Don't worry, Denzi. I doubt you'll ever be blamed/credited with impregnating anybodyKeep telling yourself that.
Lone Ranger
says...
3:01pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Sly Stallone wrote:Do you mean careers or carers ?? either is appropriate
Denzil wrote:dONT you guys have careers to go to?Georgem wrote: Don't worry, Denzi. I doubt you'll ever be blamed/credited with impregnating anybodyKeep telling yourself that.
Denzil
says...
3:14pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Georgem wrote:I made a worthwhile comment but one of you losers reported it, and it has been removed. Now stop following me around this website and accept the fact that I live in a better area of Southampton than you ever will.
Denzil wrote:Well, I've commented on the actual story, rather than just make a predictable joke. Stick that in your non-existent house in Chilworth and smoke itSly Stallone wrote:I'm guessing Georgem is unemployed by the attitude which he displays on this website, either that or he is old and retired. I'm getting paid for posting thanks.Denzil wrote:dONT you guys have careers to go to?Georgem wrote: Don't worry, Denzi. I doubt you'll ever be blamed/credited with impregnating anybodyKeep telling yourself that.
Condor Man
says...
5:38pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Parents of girls who become pregnant under the age of 16 should be prosecuted for neglect and the girls taken into care.
I'm sick of seeing kids being brought up by kids. It's wrong for all concerned.
obelisker
says...
6:13pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Condor Man wrote:They are teens experimenting with each other in the main, not poor simpering innocents being preyed upon by the dirty mac brigade. And the silly idea of putting kids into care is laughable. Care Homes are breeding grounds for under-age prostitutes, how counterproductive would that be! This scheme could greatly lessen your sickness of seeing kids brought up by kids surely?
Considering that the age of censent in 16 any girl under that age should not, by law, be having sex in the first place. If the law was properly enforced men would think twice as they could end up (quite rightly) on the sex offenders register.
Parents of girls who become pregnant under the age of 16 should be prosecuted for neglect and the girls taken into care.
I'm sick of seeing kids being brought up by kids. It's wrong for all concerned.
B. L.
says...
6:23pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Condor Man
says...
6:52pm Tue 18 Nov 08
obelisker wrote:typical weak response from a liberal who thinks it's right for kids to experiment like lab rats. Girls should be encourage to have more self-esteem instead of being at the mercy of men wanting to put notches on the bed posts.
Condor Man wrote:They are teens experimenting with each other in the main, not poor simpering innocents being preyed upon by the dirty mac brigade. And the silly idea of putting kids into care is laughable. Care Homes are breeding grounds for under-age prostitutes, how counterproductive would that be! This scheme could greatly lessen your sickness of seeing kids brought up by kids surely?
Considering that the age of censent in 16 any girl under that age should not, by law, be having sex in the first place. If the law was properly enforced men would think twice as they could end up (quite rightly) on the sex offenders register.
Parents of girls who become pregnant under the age of 16 should be prosecuted for neglect and the girls taken into care.
I'm sick of seeing kids being brought up by kids. It's wrong for all concerned.
Shame on you, perhaps I can opt out of funding the housing of these mothers and you can pay my share?
MattProbert
says...
6:53pm Tue 18 Nov 08
obelisker
says...
7:29pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Condor Man wrote:Happy to be a realistic Liberal rather than a Conservative christian fundamentalist (with an accent on the 'mentalist') such as your good self. Tell me Condor Man, would you also be in favour of E.C.T to try to 'cure' Homosexuals like they did in your 'Good old days'?
obelisker wrote:typical weak response from a liberal who thinks it's right for kids to experiment like lab rats. Girls should be encourage to have more self-esteem instead of being at the mercy of men wanting to put notches on the bed posts.
Condor Man wrote:They are teens experimenting with each other in the main, not poor simpering innocents being preyed upon by the dirty mac brigade. And the silly idea of putting kids into care is laughable. Care Homes are breeding grounds for under-age prostitutes, how counterproductive would that be! This scheme could greatly lessen your sickness of seeing kids brought up by kids surely?
Considering that the age of censent in 16 any girl under that age should not, by law, be having sex in the first place. If the law was properly enforced men would think twice as they could end up (quite rightly) on the sex offenders register.
Parents of girls who become pregnant under the age of 16 should be prosecuted for neglect and the girls taken into care.
I'm sick of seeing kids being brought up by kids. It's wrong for all concerned.
Shame on you, perhaps I can opt out of funding the housing of these mothers and you can pay my share?
m_l_turner
says...
8:27pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Condor Man
says...
9:23pm Tue 18 Nov 08
obelisker wrote:thanks for the mental assessment, perhaps I should go to Room 101 and learn to love a world where people are rewarded for breaking the law. Surely the point of living in a democracy we have the right to hold whatever views we like, or has Mr Brown taken that away from us yet?
Condor Man wrote:Happy to be a realistic Liberal rather than a Conservative christian fundamentalist (with an accent on the 'mentalist') such as your good self. Tell me Condor Man, would you also be in favour of E.C.T to try to 'cure' Homosexuals like they did in your 'Good old days'?obelisker wrote:typical weak response from a liberal who thinks it's right for kids to experiment like lab rats. Girls should be encourage to have more self-esteem instead of being at the mercy of men wanting to put notches on the bed posts. Shame on you, perhaps I can opt out of funding the housing of these mothers and you can pay my share?Condor Man wrote: Considering that the age of censent in 16 any girl under that age should not, by law, be having sex in the first place. If the law was properly enforced men would think twice as they could end up (quite rightly) on the sex offenders register. Parents of girls who become pregnant under the age of 16 should be prosecuted for neglect and the girls taken into care. I'm sick of seeing kids being brought up by kids. It's wrong for all concerned.They are teens experimenting with each other in the main, not poor simpering innocents being preyed upon by the dirty mac brigade. And the silly idea of putting kids into care is laughable. Care Homes are breeding grounds for under-age prostitutes, how counterproductive would that be! This scheme could greatly lessen your sickness of seeing kids brought up by kids surely?
Rob444
says...
9:29pm Tue 18 Nov 08
Shoong
says...
8:17am Wed 19 Nov 08
Dr Alimantado
says...
9:30am Wed 19 Nov 08
Georgem wrote:It is tricky but I don't like the way the idea is locking the parents out. If my daughter were to have something like that done I believeI have the right to know, at 13 she would still be a child, not an adult.
Tricky. On one hand, this can be seen as an advocation of sexually active 13 year olds, but on the other, to pretend it isn't happening is pointless. Ultimately, I suppose, teen births have to be curbed.
As it is illegal to be having sex under the age of 16, how can the ministers then suggest that a 13 year old can have the injection without the parent having the right to know?
It stinks. It is not a solution. That said, I agree something needs to be done but cutting the parents out of the loop and then blaiming parents for the state of society nowadays is a real slap in the face.
Boris Remmington
says...
10:43am Wed 19 Nov 08
Georgem
says...
1:52pm Wed 19 Nov 08
Rob444 wrote:Oh, well, that's that then. Problem solved, eh! Why don't we also teach them that murder is illegal, and solve that problem, too?
AREN'T SCHOOL CHILDREN TAUGHT IN SEX EDUCATION LESSONS THAT UNDER BRITISH LAW THE AGE OF CONSENT, FOR BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS, IS 16?
Georgem
says...
1:56pm Wed 19 Nov 08
Dr Alimantado wrote:Why do you have the "right" to know? If your child does not feel she can talk to you about this, there's little point demanding the "right" to it. Parents involving themselves in their childrens' sex lives like this often leads to the wrong decisions being made. I know of people whose life - and the life of their child - was ruined, completely, because their mother interfered and demanded that she give birth to an unwanted child. Why? Well, she wanted to be a grandmother, didn't she? Whos interest was served there? Hers, and nobody elses.
Georgem wrote:It is tricky but I don't like the way the idea is locking the parents out. If my daughter were to have something like that done I believeI have the right to know, at 13 she would still be a child, not an adult.
Tricky. On one hand, this can be seen as an advocation of sexually active 13 year olds, but on the other, to pretend it isn't happening is pointless. Ultimately, I suppose, teen births have to be curbed.
As it is illegal to be having sex under the age of 16, how can the ministers then suggest that a 13 year old can have the injection without the parent having the right to know?
It stinks. It is not a solution. That said, I agree something needs to be done but cutting the parents out of the loop and then blaiming parents for the state of society nowadays is a real slap in the face.
Not that I'm saying you would be like that. Just pointing out that no such "right" exists, and rightly so
Harding
says...
4:09pm Wed 19 Nov 08
Dr Alimantado
says...
8:58pm Wed 19 Nov 08
Georgem wrote:I think the right does exist for a parent to know if their minor is having something injected into their body.
Dr Alimantado wrote:Why do you have the "right" to know? If your child does not feel she can talk to you about this, there's little point demanding the "right" to it. Parents involving themselves in their childrens' sex lives like this often leads to the wrong decisions being made. I know of people whose life - and the life of their child - was ruined, completely, because their mother interfered and demanded that she give birth to an unwanted child. Why? Well, she wanted to be a grandmother, didn't she? Whos interest was served there? Hers, and nobody elses. Not that I'm saying you would be like that. Just pointing out that no such "right" exists, and rightly soGeorgem wrote: Tricky. On one hand, this can be seen as an advocation of sexually active 13 year olds, but on the other, to pretend it isn't happening is pointless. Ultimately, I suppose, teen births have to be curbed.It is tricky but I don't like the way the idea is locking the parents out. If my daughter were to have something like that done I believeI have the right to know, at 13 she would still be a child, not an adult. As it is illegal to be having sex under the age of 16, how can the ministers then suggest that a 13 year old can have the injection without the parent having the right to know? It stinks. It is not a solution. That said, I agree something needs to be done but cutting the parents out of the loop and then blaiming parents for the state of society nowadays is a real slap in the face.
Indeed I would not be like your scenario described.
We will have to agree to disagree over the right issue. Just because the issue is sex related it shouldn't automatically exclude parents...keeping in mind the child making this 'decision' could be as young as 13!
I know there are many mature 13 year olds but I simply don't accept that the majority of 13 year olds are old enough to say 'hey, I want that jab, all my mates are getting it and I don't want my parents to know'. Peer influence is what will make the decision for most of them.
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Girls as young as 13 could get contraceptive jabs to prevent teen mums
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