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Abortion lessons for schoolchildren
Last updated at 00:37am on 08.09.06
Abortion lessons for schoolchildren
Schoolchildren should be given compulsory lessons about the benefits of abortion, ministers' advisers on sex education claim.
Abortion should be included in teaching about sex to ensure that girls who become pregnant 'can make an informed decision' about whether to have one, they said.
And the abortion teaching should combat 'myths' that turn teenagers away from terminating their pregnancies, a report for ministers said.
It cited the idea that abortion can lead to infertility as misleading.
The recommendation from the Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy would mean - if accepted by the Government - that pupils would be taught about abortion from the age of 11.
But they could also have abortion lessons in primary schools that teach children from the age of five.
The group, which reports to Education Secretary Alan Johnson and Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt, has repeatedly called for sex education classes to be made compulsory and to include testing for all pupils down to the age of five.
At present only secondary schools need to provide sex education lessons, and parents have the right to withdraw their children. Primary schools must by law have a policy on 'personal, social and health education', but do not need to provide lessons.
Gill Frances, head of the advisory group, said in a message to ministers yesterday: "Pregnant young women and their partners need to understand all the options open to them, including abortion, so that they can make an informed decision about whether or not to continue with their pregnancy.
"We are concerned that PSHE programmes very often avoid the subject and do not provide sufficient evidence-based information about abortion, therefore leaving pregnant teenagers ill-equipped to assess abortion as an option."
She added: "Many myths prevail, including the fact that abortion may lead to infertility, which the Advisory Group is concerned may be a contributory factor to repeat abortions."
The call for teaching on abortion comes at a time of widespread concern over the easy availability of abortion for schoolchildren and the way young girls are offered abortion without the knowledge of their parents.
Two years ago there was uproar when an abortion was procured for 14-year-old schoolgirl Melissa Smith by a 21-year-old school 'outreach worker' without the knowledge of the girl's mother.
This year the High Court confirmed the right of health worker to organise abortions for girls under 16 without informing their parents.
Each year around 4,000 abortions are performed on girls under 16, with another 35,000 on girls between 16 and 19.
The advice for ministers brought protests from anti-education groups and fresh condemnation from critics of the Government's sex education-based campaign to reduce teenage pregnancies.
Phyllis Bowman of Right to Life said: "It is absolute rubbish to say that young people do not know about abortion. They know only too much about abortion.
"The education establishment has continued to ignore the results of 30 years of its policies on sex education which has pushed abortion under the noses of young people."
Anastasia de Waal of the Civitas think tank said: '"The problem is not that young people do not have enough information about sex, contraception and abortion. The problem is that they do not have enough information about single parenthood.
"We know that an awful lot of young girls who get pregnant do so deliberately in order to have a baby because they think they will gain by it.
"We should forget about teaching them more about sex and education and instead teach them about the harsh outcomes of teenage pregnancy."
The Advisory Group report called for more state spending to make the lives of teenage single parents more comfortable. It said they should have 'personal advisers to provide an all-encompassing package of support'.
Those who do not wish to live with their parents should always get 'high quality supported housing' rather than 'inappropriate temporary housing'.
Reader views (16)
In Nigeria today 80% of girls in secondary go for abortion and 89% of boys, practice un-safe sex. What can I do to teach them? I have just finished college and I want to dedicate my time to teach teenagers?
- Miss Onyemakonor Obaigbena, port hacourt \ Nigeria, 07/04/2008 14:55
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Let the parents give some facts to the teachers: you are three or four times more likely to die in the year after an abortion than if you had the baby. Your next baby after the abortion is more likely premature, small and with cerebral palsy. Younger girls having abortions are more at risk from bleeding, infection leading to infertility, psychological distress and depression. All this is learned from recent clinical studies of good repute.
- Dr A. M. Houghton, Sheffield,, 15/09/2006 12:22
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The horrific truth about what happens during the procedure of an abortion is hard for most adults to face. To reveal such "truths" to innocent children ages 5 - 11 would create psychological turmoil that could have troubling consequences. However, to not tell the truth about the actual procedure leaves children suseptible to discoverying the devastating effects on their own. The only truth is, abortion destroys lives. Must we destroy the children who were allowed to be born? Is it not enough that abortion destroys children before they have that chance?
- Patti Hendricks, Kentucky, USA, 13/09/2006 00:16
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I believe that sex education is primarily a parents responsibility and should be age appropriate and sensitive to the young persons maturity.
I am very concerned that abortion seems to be being portrayed as a beneficial contraceptive method and hardly any mention of the emmotional impact, which can be extremely damaging.
The whole aspect of abortion must be covered, the practicalities and the risks, side effects and emmotional and mental impact.
There are excellent teaching facilities out there from groups such as options, dealing with all aspects of relationships on a personal level to the young people with a non judgemental approach and a caring manner.
The focus today seems to be on giving young people all the facts and information to deal with life themselves but in a formal, cold manner. These young people need to hear advice and information from people who really care about them, not someone fulfilling government criteria.
- Amber Taroni, Ramsgate, 11/09/2006 10:15
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I am for teaching them the facts about abortion.
- Buck, Bronaugh, Missouri, USA, 10/09/2006 23:10
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I seriously wonder if these "lessons" will include how the procedures work, what the baby goes through, what the post-abortion reactions might be for the mother, etc. complete with pictures.
- Mac Sterling, USA, 08/09/2006 15:31
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Teaching is not necessarily the same as recommendation. To avoid or prohibit the effective dissemination of sex and drugs education, alongside advice about diet, exercise and solcial responsibility is to deny our children vital information. They will, of course, discuss these matters in the way that children will. Responsble adults have to come up with an effective and consistent message in all areas. If parents and teachers don't do it then it's anybody's guess who could give our children misinformation about these topics.
Telling young girls about sex, diseases, contraception and abortion must be better than crossing your fingers and hoping that they'll learn how to behave safely all by themselves.
- Matilda, Deepdene, 08/09/2006 15:16
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Shouldn't we teach our children to wait and have sex when they can deal with all the consequences? How many diseases they can catch, pregnancy and most of all, what joining with others haphazardly does to the soul. The only "myth" here is that abortion is some simple solution. Besides the fact that it is killing a human, every person I know that has had an abortion has regretted it and some still are having a hard time dealing with what they did. Children should be in school to learn academics, not whether or not they should have sex.
- Patricia, Los Angeles, California, 08/09/2006 14:57
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I must admit, I would think teaching them about the harsh outcomes of teenage pregnancy would have the effect of encouraging abortions, not encouraging responsible sexuality. The question that adults, those who want teenagers to make abortion choices without their parents, really need to hear over and over is this: If someone is under the "age of consent" for the sex act, why should they be able to independently make this far reaching decision of what to do about its consequences? Is a pregnant 14 year old more clear-headed then one who isn't? Someone please explain this. Will the parents bring their own views to the table? Yes. But these views are what raised this child and are part of her foundation as a woman and as a human being. She will catch herself imparting these views to her own children, groaning like every other parent who suddenly realizes they sound like their parents. This decision needs the guidance of someone who loves her and knows her and has an intimate interest in who she will become.
- Tony, Middlesex, USA, 08/09/2006 14:48
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What ever happened to the notion of preserving the innocence of our children? Aside from the fact that abortion is indeed the murder of the most vulnerable of human beings, this is a horrendous abomination. What is this world coming to?
- Ramona, Minnesota, USA, 08/09/2006 14:22
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Another example of Britan's fall into faithless immorality. Why would a Christian parent ever want to send thier child to a athiest, socialist school who, by design, undermines every moral and spiritual value the parents want for thier child?
- Keith Kilgore, Watertown, New York, 08/09/2006 14:03
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I don't know about how things are in England, but the single most significant problem leading to a life of poverty in America is pregnancy while still in school. Once a girl has had a baby and is on public support, there is very little likelyhood they will ever get out of the track they are in. This is merely stating the facts of the past thirty years. When abortion is added to the above, the woman goes through a life of dealing with the morality of their childhood decision in addition to being captive on the "state dole". While some women lift themselves up "by the boot straps", they are very few and far between and demonstrate how difficult it is to rise above such a lifelong problem, not that it is an easily done thing. Such women who do are lauded because it is so hard, not because it is "so good".
- John Mcclain, USA, 08/09/2006 13:42
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This sounds like something from "Brave New World." Instead of young people having to face the consequences of their action, they are instead going to be taught how to handle problems in a way that is typical of 21st century Britain - GET RID!
This doctrine will cloud the mind of many and may even lead to a rise in sexually transmitted infections, as some young people see KID, not HIV as the real consequemce of unprotected sex, and if they can dodge that, then contraception will leave the equation altogether.
Ahh mighty Britain, you are sowing very odd seeds.
- Kieron, Tottenham, 08/09/2006 12:34
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I agree with Emma and Ceecee. This idea is pure lunacy. I suppose they will teach kids that it's just a "myth" when people say that abortion is killing human beings.
- Martin, London, UK, 08/09/2006 10:43
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As a parent of three young children I am appalled. What on earth do these people think they're playing at? It just reinforces the view that hardliners dominate government policy making and I'm afraid Patricia Hewitt and her colleagues do themselves no favours by appointing these loonies.
- Emma, London, UK, 08/09/2006 09:14
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This idea really stinks. It sounds like indoctrination to me. They are trying to force abortion down the throats of school kids. They want to take the heavy pressure that abortion clinics put on girls to abort and start it in the classroom long before the girls get pregnant. Captive audiences that will obediently show up for their abortion appointments when the time comes, with no qualms or questions in their minds. It sounds like brainwashing by an industry that has a huge financial stake in it. Of course that other big A word (adoption) will be banned like an obsenity in these compulsory lessons. Adoption cuts into the abortion providers profits too.
- Ceecee, Seattle, Washington, U. S. a., 08/09/2006 08:04
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