Girls as young as 13 should be given the contraceptive pill by pharmacies without a GP’s prescription or parental consent, public health advisors for the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) have said.
 
The proposal has been condemned by parental rights campaigners, who argue that the move will undermine the law with regards to underage sex.

Health authorities in Manchester, Croydon and the Isle of Wight have held pilot schemes which cut out doctors when providing the Pill, arguing it is a good way to reduce teenage pregnancies. They have recommended the schemes are rolled out across the country, and have been supported by the government, according to the Daily Telegraph.

However, numerous studies have shown that such schemes have not reduced levels of teen pregnancies. Professor David Paton, an economist at the University of Nottingham, has shown that pilot programmes which aim to reduce teen pregnancies by making contraception more widely available tend to not to affect levels of teenage pregnancies, but increase the rate of STIs.

The UK has the highest rate of teen pregnancies in the EU. Among under 16 years old it is six times the Irish rate.

The move comes as it emerged that a 15-year-old school girl suffered a stroke after taking the contraceptive pill, leaving her with blurred vision and unable to walk. Gemma Hill collapsed and began vomiting blood just weeks after being diagnosed the Pill to ease period pains and stomach cramps, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Four days later she suffered a stroke, caused by a blood clot on the brain, and had several fits in hospital. After under going two months of intensive therapy she suffered another stroke, her mother, Maria Murphy, has disclosed.

Doctors told the teenager that the Pill did increase the risk of blood clots and warned that it could have been the cause. Mrs Murphy said yesterday that the her daughter’s case showed that it would be “ridiculous to let girls who are just 13 years old to be able to get the Pill without seeing a doctor”.

“I think teenagers under 16 should need parental permission and a consultation with their GP before going on the pill, otherwise they won’t be adequately informed.”

However the Department of Health has said pharmacies should be able to supply the Pill to under 16s if proper safeguards were in place.

Pharmacists “should be fully satisfied young people understand all the issues before they prescribe any contraceptive, including encouraging the young person to talk to their parents”, said a spokesman.

NHS South East London is considering extending a pilot service to what it calls “women under 16”, after an evaluation report found older teens and those in their early 20s valued the service for its “convenience” and “anonymity”. The project was set up to tackle teenage pregnancy rates in Lambeth and Southwark that are among the highest in Europe.

Authors of the report recommended the scheme should be considered for roll-out “across London and nationally”.

But Dr Trevor Stammers, chair of the Christian Medical Fellowship and a member of the Family Education Trust, described pharmacy provision to under 16s as “deeply troubling”.

He said: “It flies in the face of any concerns about child protection. It totally undermines the law with regards to underage sex.

“To public health professionals and politicians believe that underage sex should by illegal? Because if they do, this kind of policy is utterly counterproductive.”

“It’s also quite negligent to give out the Pill without a full patient examination,” he said, saying it increased the risk of blood clots. “These schemes are going to be dangerous.”