The UK is second only to the US in rates of teenage pregnancy Free condoms should be given to young people as part of a campaign to cut teenage pregnancies, says a Labour MP. Mr Bryant will host a debate in Parliament’s Westminster Hall on Wednesday amid statistics showing that the UK has the highest rate in Western Europe, and second in the world, behind the US. Among a series of recommendations, he wants government ministers in England and Wales to target support at “the most at risk” in the areas with highest rates of teenage pregnancy. That led to the Department for Children, Schools and Families - which is jointly responsible for England’s target with the Department of Health - promising that efforts would be “redoubled”. Mr Bryant also advocates that schemes allowing chemists to give out free emergency contraception should be extended across the country. Mr Bryant said all international comparisons suggest that deprivation was “intimately linked with high rates of teenage pregnancy”. read more

Technorati Tags: bryant, pregnancy, mr, teenage, contraception, rates, pregnancy news