Time to Drop Our British Sexual Hangups and Advertise Abortion Clinics?

Condoms, maybe. Aborton clinics, no. Sorry, but no. We are currently spending a record amount in this country on sex education, and we are not making any headway in the level of teenage pregnancies that we are seeing. And we won't do so unless we start teaching kids about not just the basic facts about sex, but the responsibilities that come (or should come) with being a mother or a father, and how hard it really is. We need to put morals back into sex education and we need to stop this relentless sexualisation of our children. Children should be taught that, 'you know what, actually it's okay to say no and you maybe should', rather than this relentless cultural Marxism that they are subjected to under the current regime. The sexualisation and politicisation of our children is just another tool being used by the left.

We keep hearing about new initiatives from the government aimed at helping prevent teenage pregnancies but which actually, conversely, promote the idea that underage sex amongst teenagers is acceptable. One of the recent proposals came from Jim Knight who wants to put a sex advisor into every secondary school in the country with the power to dispense the morning after pill like they're smarties. Now I'm sorry if this makes me a prude, but this is sending out completely the wrong message to our children.

In an age when we are seeing our perceived boundaries constantly undermined, we need to start reasserting morality back into the public conscience. I am not against abortion per se, but I am against it being readily promoted on TV as some sort of lifestyle choice. It may not leave physical scars, but the emotional ones will never heal for some people.

Chris thanks for joining me in the debate. I think "Closing the stable door after the horse has bolted!" comes to mind and yes young people have very little or no boundaries . We have gone through a period of complete self indulgence and indulgence of our children to the detriment of families and our communities mainly by a lack of boundaries insisted on by parents and the government!

As I said in my original piece this government have given out the wrong message as far as boozing is concerned. Alcohol is so freely available everywhere now, except in the “Great British Pub”, where professional landlords are going out of business and sweet shops and petrol garages are selling it. In my Councillor role I chaired a “fundamental review of drugs and alcohol”; amazingly we were told it is so often the parents who send their children out with alcohol, or buy it for them. I interviewed young people as young as 10years receiving help from professional services. I think alcohol has made a huge contribution to the problems of early sexual behaviour and child and teen pregnancy.

I am with you on your views on abortion and think how you have phrased it "I am not against abortion per se, but I am against it being readily promoted on TV as some sort of lifestyle choice. It may not leave physical scars, but the emotional ones will never heal for some people" sums up my feelings on this. I also believe pregnancy, giving birth and running the risk of not coping without the support of a dedicated family can lead to misery. In this sort of debate it is so easy to generalise and of course there are those young people who find themselves in this position and manage amazingly, but I think they are more few and far between. So often our young people are turning to alcohol and/or drugs to get away from their own problems. This government was soft on drugs and we now see the effect that has had on families, where those parents wrapped up in their “own little worlds” struggle to meet the genuine needs of the child, safety, security of a loving relationship, regular schooling, clean clothes an opportunity to be heard and I could go on..

I understand your feelings on the morning after pill, but I personally would prefer this to a continuing pregnancy as it would or should also be an opportunity to discuss with that young person their behaviour and the consequences, such as what is going on in the home and reasons why their aspirations are so low. I go back to my statement about “Closing the Stable Door etc…”

I like to consider myself to be slightly more liberal than maybe I should admit as a Conservative when it comes to social matters but such a viewpoint can only stretch so far - and it certainly does not stretch far enough to accept advertisements for abortion clinics!

Ask yourself this: would you go out and murder an innocent little baby who's only crime was being an accident born unwanted to unloving parents? It has been proven that even as early as 24 weeks a fetus can survive independently of the mother's womb - yet at 24 weeks a woman may still seek an abortion (although this is, of course, the upper limit).

Britain is in the grip of a serious teenage pregnancy problem - and the government is trying to tackle it in completely the wrong way. The fact that underage sexual intercourse is criminalised does not eliminate it, but demonises an entire generation for a perfectly natural act (although there does, admittedly, have to be limits, and the government rightly recognises the more serious nature of under-13s engaging in sexual intercourse). The proposal to permit abortion clinics to advertise will send out completely the wrong message and, as you said, possibly herald them as the new birth control - when they are, in my view, nothing short of murder.

Personally, I cannot condone anyone who willingly aborts unless the lives of either the mother, the child or both are in danger or the conception is a result of rape. If people want to be stupid enough to have unprotected sexual intercourse at will then they should be forced to live with the consequences of their actions - whether that be pregnancy or the contraction of STIs. There is enough support available for parents - whether their children were planned or the result of wild stupidity - to accept such a viewpoint without fearing too much for the lives of the children in question.

Abortion clinic advertisements will only be seen as condoning abortions and sending out the message to anyone who wants to hear: 'It's okay if you are stupid enough to fall pregnant - we're here to help! For a modest fee, we'll kill your unborn baby so you can once again sleep around - unprotected, of course - and fall pregnant again. Don't worry, we're here to help!'

As Chris said, the solution to our growing social problem lies in education - but both at school and at home. The State can only do so much to educate youngsters (and believe me it certainly isn't even close to it yet - I should know, I only left school last year) and if that means a parent having the most difficult chat of their life with their offspring, then so be it. It is, as far as personal experience has, to me, thus far indicated, more embarrassing for the parent than it is for the child. But it's not just the birds and the bees that need to be discussed - it's finance and responsibility. Raising a child isn't cheap (a recent survey revealed that the average mother does jobs around the house that, if done by someone in that field, would total about £33,000 per year) and there is an awful lot of responsibility to shoulder. They need to understand this before they start sleeping around.

Condom adverts I am more supportive of. The current run of radio ads, however, seem to be focusing mostly on the spread of STIs and merely play to the stereotype of teenagers partying hard, getting drunk and sleeping with whomever they please. They should be focusing on STIs, granted, but also the number one original reason for condom-wear: contraception. Condoms are 97% effective in preventing an unwanted pregnancy and are far more moral and ethical than waiting until pregnant then having an abortion.

Indeed, with One condoms, all profits go to funding HIV-related projects in Africa - the greatest ethical reason for wearing a condom!

Hi Alan
an excellent contribution to the debate if I may say. Your comment "The State can only do so much to educate youngsters (and believe me it certainly isn't even close to it yet - I should know, I only left school last year)" is very interesting and I would be particularly keen to know more about how you think this could be improved?

During the fundamental review of drugs and alcohol I carried out for the Council and partners, I had the opportunity to delve a bit into how this takes place; you might like to see the final report that went to scrutiny: http://www.medway.gov.uk/ord20080206r-6.pdf?file=73224 we actually discovered that there wasn't a lot of joined up services between the NHS and our Educational services. I hope that because of the work done for this review what is done in schools will improve, but even so I am concerned that this will not be enough! Your views as far as your own experience and what is needed will be greatly appreciated as would the views of others who might be reading this but not joining discussions. Obviously we hope you will want to but if you (i.e. others) would like to write to me privately jane.etheridge@medway.gov.uk then we may be able to review practise and address any failings.

Your observation re, it means the "parent having the most difficult chat of their life with their offspring, then so be it. It is, as far as personal experience has, to me, thus far indicated, more embarrassing for the parent than it is for the child. But it's not just the birds and the bees that need to be discussed - it's finance and responsibility" is spot on and so appropriate! It was this hurdle that made me thought of the title for this piece. Our continental cousins seem to manage talking to children about this subject so much better than we do as a nation, perhaps its because we leave it so late into the child's life in the belief of 'protecting them' when in fact we are doing the exact opposite by being awkward/ashamed/embarrassed to have that conversation!

I couldn't agree more than financial responsibility needs to be discussed also, but do think when we talk about such big figures some people - adults included think what the heck, the state will pick any cost up! The problem is now as we all know is that the state is now very much diminished thanks to Gordon and Pru! (Don't hear much of her nowadays do we?

Like you, if done properly I too would support some advertising of condoms; I'm just not sure of the medium, watershed or even whether it will increase the normality of 'sex on the street' and reinforce the myth that ‘everyone’s doing it why aren’t I, I’ll just take precautions!’ I am unlike you seemed to be, concerned about STIs it is a real problem, but your comment about “stereotyping” is one I take on board! When I started this debate I knew that it was a difficult line to take either way and I hope others will contribute to discussion and whether my views will change on anything during those discussions remains to be seen.

I respect your views on abortion and completely understand the graphic picture that you paint, but I know and you know that the life chances of people, young people in particular are diminished when they have a family too young and without sorting their own usually complicated lives out which can’t be good for any children born to them. I also know that there are many people out there who unable to have children of their own and desperately want to give a home to a baby via adoption.

Communication seems to be the key so why are we so bad at it. You will see on my site home page an advert for RELATE, as I said in my original piece should we be supporting what is already out there rather than universal advertising; and is advertising the easy option or even the cheaper option?