At Least 21 Girls Between 13 And 15 Get Pregnant Daily In Western Europe
More than 20 girls between 13 and 15 become pregnant every day, figures show. Among these teenagers, pregnancies rose by 4 per cent in 2005 from the previous year, to 7,462. And more than half end in abortion. England and Wales has the worst teenage pregnancy rates in Western Europe - six times higher than Holland and three times that of France. And last month, ministers admitted they would not meet the 2010 target to halve teenage pregnancy rates. There has been a reduction of only 11 per cent since 1998. Critics blame the Government for increasing access to sex education and making contraception more freely available. Underage girls can already get the morning-after pill from school nurses without their parents knowing. Ministers also want it to be made available to under-16s in pharmacies. Professor David Paton, who analysed the figures from the Department of Health, said the Government's teenage pregnancy strategy is counterproductive. "The underlying social depriva...