The Irish Times today editorialises in favour of minors being given the Pill without the consent of their parents. It .jpg)
believes the Government should adopt the recommendation of the Law Reform Commission in this regard and copy the example of the UK.
The editorial notes that conflicts can arise between doctors, their ‘patients’ and parents about this matter and essentially recommends that this conflict be avoided by cutting parents out of the picture.
How many parents will be happy about this? A Red C poll commissioned by The Iona Institute found that 77 percent of the public are opposed to 14 and 15 year olds being given the Pill without parental consent.
The editorial also fails to acknowledge, much less refute, other substantial objections to this proposal. The Irish Times wants us to follow the British example. But Professor David Paton, an expert in the area of UK teenage pregnancy policy, has pointed out that the pregnancy rate for girls under the age of 16 is six times higher in Britain than it is here.
As he asks, why would we want to copy the UK?
The editorial also refers to “the reality that the average age of initial sexual intercourse has fallen sharply in recent times”. This is unquestionably so. However, the conclusion it draws from this, that “the law must keep pace with the times” and reflect this reality is far less clear-cut.
Plainly it has never occured to the leader writers of the Times that this “reality” might be addressed in other ways. For example, instead of treating it as an inevitable and unarrestable trend, we might treat instead regard it as something undesirable and avoidable, the same way it treats smoking, say.
It also fails to point out that currently the average age for first sexual intercourse is 17, whereas The Irish Times editorial implicitly assumes it is younger than this.
A campaign launched last year by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency (CPA) highlighted this fact, as well the damage done to teenagers by premature sex.
Called ‘b4udecide’, it pointed out that nearly a third of teenage girls have come under pressure to have sex before they are ready.
According to Prof Hannah McGee of the Royal College of Surgeons, “Young people who had sex at an early age were also more likely to express regret – to say that they wished they waited longer”.
However, Prof McGee noted that “myths” of early sexual experience abounded. In fact, the majority of Irish young people wait until they are 17 or over to have sex.
Less than one-third of young adult men (18-24 year olds) and 22 per cent of young women say they had sex before the age of 17.
Meanwhile, a recent study of young people in the UK conducted by researchers at Hull University showed that most teenagers want to learn about responsible parenting rather than sexual mechanics in sex education.
The survey also revealed that around three-quarters of teenagers interviewed said that a relationship does not need to involve sex. The survey, conducted among more than 2,000 13 to 16-year-olds from a range of schools and backgrounds, has surprised experts in the field.
So research suggests that 1) UK-style liberal policies which make it easier for teenagers to access the Pill at the very least do nothing to retard the growth of teen pregnancy 2) the notion that teenage sex is rampant before the age of 17 is a myth 3) premature sex is physically and emotionally harmful to teenagers and 4) teenagers are prepared to be more responsible as regards sex than one might have assumed.
All of this suggests that we should be less quiescent about the problem of premature sexual activity. In the first place, it harms young people and in the second, it seems that teenagers not quite as hostile to a message that urges caution as to their first sexual experience.
Sadly, the Irish Times appears unwilling to contemplate this possibility. Which is a shame.