Sexually Transmitted Diseases And Underage Pregnancy In Teenagers

EDM number 1136 in 2006-07, proposed by Angela Watkinson on 14/03/2007.

That this House notes that conceptions in England in 2005 in children aged 15 years and under reached 7,462 compared with 7,181 in 2004; further notes that sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among teenagers have reached epidemic proportions and that genito-urinary medicine clinics in England in 2005 reported 2,221 cases of STDs in patients aged 13 to 15 years; notes with great sadness that 13 under-age girls in the UK were reported to have syphilis in 2005; notes that the numbers exclude cases diagnosed by general practitioners and family planning clinics; further notes that the UK figures for teenage conceptions and STDs far exceed those of any other country in Western Europe; believes that this is due to nearly 40 per cent. of under-age children in the UK being sexually active which according to the UNICEF Report - An Overview of Child Well-Being in Rich Countries - is by far the highest figure in Western Europe; calls attention to warnings from Professor David Paton, Nottingham University Business School and Dr Trevor Stammers of St George's University of London, two international authorities on teenage pregnancy and STDs, that some measures used as part of the Government's Teenage Strategy could induce some adolescents to increase risk-taking sexual behaviour; and, whilst recognising that the legal age of consent is 16 years, calls for greater action from the Government to involve parents and to moderate its policy, requiring schools and others involved in sex education and contraceptive provision to encourage young people to withstand peer pressure and to understand the dangers of early sexual activity.

This motion has been signed by a total of 50 MPs.