British Pro-Life Group Outraged Govt Says Abortions Done on Pre-Teens
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 29, 2008
London, England (LifeNews.com) — A leading pro-life group is upset by a new report from the British government showing abortions are done on teenagers and girls as young as 12 years-old. The report came as the island nation marked 40 years of legal abortions that have taken the lives of millions since 1967.
The new health department report shows that, each year, about ten to fifteen 12-year-old girls have abortions.
The health department data also shows 138 girls aged 13 had abortions in 2003, which increased to 142 in 2004.
Joanne Hill, a spokeswoman for the British pro-life charity LIFE says more abortions are done on teenagers because they are given a comprehensive sexual education message that tells them sex is okay as long as contraception is involved.
“It’s a real tragedy to hear that girls aged just 12 years old are having sex, getting pregnant and having abortions at a time in their life when they should be enjoying the carefree times of childhood," she said in a statement.
Hill was also upset that the information only came to light after the London Times newspaper asked the government for the information under the Freedom of Information Act.
“Even more shocking is that parents probably won’t be aware this is happening to their child as school nurses have the power to arrange abortions without their knowledge,’ she added.
Dr. Rhoda Knight previously responded to the report and told the ANI news service that society needs to stop giving girls the message that they can or should have sex at an early age.
"The message given out is that the boys will use a condom or the girls can go on the pill, but they end up pregnant, which is extremely sad. We need to empower these girls to realize that they do not need to have sex at that age," she said.
But Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service abortion business said people like Knight need to "stop being shocked" by the fact that pre-teen girls have sex and abortions.
"This is a tiny number of girls. Children grow up very quickly in our society. They are maturing faster physically, psychologically and socially, and society just has to come to terms with that," she said.
There are more than 200,000 abortions annually in Britain and the number has been growing in recent years despite campaigns to promote birth control and the morning after pill.
