Cross-party inquiry into unwanted pregnancy: your views?

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello,

We've been asked by Conservative MP Amber Rudd to contribute to a cross-party inquiry into the factors underlying unwanted pregnancies in the UK, and ways in which the unwanted pregnancy rate might be brought down. (Other members of the Inquiry include Labour MP Sandra Osborne and LibDem MP Lorely Burt.)

The background information from the Inquiry states: 'Over the last decade, the age-standardised abortion rate has risen by 2.3 per cent. Beneath this statistic are some striking trends. For example, the abortion rate for women in the 30-34 age group has risen by around 10 per cent in the past three years, which is in stark contrast to other countries like New Zealand, where the rate has decreased by 5 per cent over the same period. Repeat abortions have also increased over the past decade, rising from 31 per cent in 2001 to 36 per cent in 2011. Although unwanted pregnancies in teenagers have been steadily declining over the past decade, the UK also remains home to the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Western Europe.'

The Inquiry is interested in hearing your views on the following:

1. The issue of unwanted pregnancy in the UK.
2. The figures suggest that there are increasing rates of abortions among some age groups in the UK, increasing rates of repeat abortions, and high levels of teenage pregnancy. What are the underlying reasons for these trends? And what role (if any) does government have in tackling them?
3. What lessons can be learned from previous attempts to tackle unwanted pregnancies?
4. Are there any measures the government should be implementing to tackle unwanted pregnancy?

Plus, of course, anything else you want to say.

Thanks,
MNHQ

And in answer to why do they not contracept (an interesting verb)

All contraception is really a bit vile- condoms (male and female), caps, coils, pills, depo provera...nothing very attractive about any of it.

So the Torries don't want us having abortions? But also don't want people claiming benefits if they can't afford to fully support their children?

Actually, the more I think about this, the more suspicious it is. Why is there an emphasis in the OP on abortion. Abortion is the solution to unwanted pregnancy, that is the thing that actually stops unwanted pregnancies having a social impact in many varied ways.

So, is this inquiry just a platform for the pro-lifers to get their voices heard and create a guilty rhetoric for women.

Abortion seems a strange way to start a debate about reducing pregnancies. You need to be pregnant to have an abortion so thereby the debate and inquiry should only be focused on ways to reduce pregnancy period. or no period as the case may be, boom boom

Mcmooncup if you look at the article upthread it seems that part of the motivation is to stop anti abortionists seizing this agenda.

Ok, I know I haven't RTFT and I have already posted my random thoughts as they occurred...but just see if that stops me.

Women are having more abortions...because THEY CAN.

Why don't they contracept?

1. Contraception is generally unpleasant and/or intrusive

1. There isn't an open and strong enough culture around the glories of contraception (possibly linked to 1.). Public attitudes need a major shift like Keep Britain Tidy. eg Keep Britain Contracepted.

1. Start young. Stop all this stupid prudish churchy nonsense and tell kids like it is and bombard them with condoms.

1. Ban alcohol.

1. Somehow entirely change the psychological make-up of human beings so that they no longer think, "Oh, it'll be all right somehow by magic" (possibly a bit hard.)

I think the working classes just need to stop having sex, Hully. Or tax it or something.

Oh yes, good one boffy.

1. Sew up the orifices of the working class. Or anyone poor.

In fact, let's just kill them and simultaneously do something about the appalling over population.

And why does everyone care so much about abortion anyway?

We are grossly over populated

We murder far more people in wars

We kill other species already borned without a second thought

We all kill ourselves everyday with drugs, alcohol, fags, cars etc etc

Go abortion Go!

How about Workfare for children over the age of, say, six, if their parents are on benefits?

We wouldn't need it if they'd been Excused A Life Of Relentless Grimness

It's all about the terminology

guys, this is a cross-party inquiry. And for the record, there as many anti-abortionists (such as Frank Field) on the labour benches as there are on the other side.

and i've had an abortion, using contraception is much nicer - i don't think of it as a moral issue but -
It hurts. not as much as pregnancy and childbirth, but much much more than contraception.

maybe treat the question seriously instead of mucking about?

I am.

I had an unwanted pregnancy as a student - I used condoms but we were a bit tipsy and it tore, then i wanted MAP but it was a bank holiday so i didn't take it till about 48hrs had passed (days before they sold it in big supermarkets)

Contraception does fail. It's not 100%. And as i'd tried two types of contraception to avoid pregnancy there was no way i could turn my thinking around to wanting a pregnancy. Particularly as I was awfully terribly sick which is terrible if you don't even want to be pregnant. I had a termination, it was ok, not terrible and i've never regretted it.

OK, here is an idea.

A lot of people on here and here are talking about the difficulty getting contraception where they live. GPs not providing comprehensive contraception, FPCs with very limited opening hours, long bus rides etc...

Maybe we could build up a map?

I am imagining a website where you put in the first bit of your postcode and then answer some questions about how satisfied you are with contraceptive services where you live,, where you go to GP/FPC etc, how long you have to wait for an appt, how far you have
to travel, how much choice is available etc... And it would build up a detailed colour coded map of our experience of contraception services and where the gaps are.

Anyone good at knocking this kind if thing up? (titter) MNTowers - could you nip down the road to The Guardian. They are good at this stuff - I bet they'd do it for you.

That is a great idea himalaya. Or did you just invent the entire concept in order to roll out your knocking up joke?

I had no idea that contraception was so difficult to get hold of, I haven't used it for donkey's years. DD got hers sorted rather easily.

Nodding along to GetOrf and WhereYouLeftIt.

I've never had or wanted a termination, but from my second-hand perspective it seems to me that this from maybenow's post is pretty key - 'there was no way i could turn my thinking around to wanting a pregnancy'. The choice - the accessible, safe, non-stigmatised choice - has to be there.

The posts further up about the difficulty of people's economic circumstances, particularly the hugely burdensome cost of childcare, also had me nodding in agreement. I don't live in the UK any more. Where I am, state maternity pay runs at 67% of last net salary for 12 months, there is little or no obsession with homeowning and - this is vital - decent tenancy rights, making housing affordable in most places, and childcare is heavily state subsidised. I certainly couldn't have had my second child without these factors, and we would go under in the UK on what is a pretty decent income here. We are hoping for no. 3, and it would be completely unthinkable for us in a comparable situation in the UK.

I think contraception is harder to get hold of for the younger generation. It certainly was when I was younger.

There are FPCs but in my town they generally don't advertise their services/opening hours very well, plus the only have one night for young teens. A 14 yo is unlikely to turn around to their mum and say "Sorry mum, I'm not doing Gymnastics tonight. I'm off to the FPC to stock up on contraception" They're also unlikely to want to go another night when it is open to all ages and they might bump into Great Aunty Nora while they're waiting to get their pill.

AFAIK our local FPC was subject to cuts. Certainly the building it used to be in has been knocked down and they're building a new housing development on the land instead. I have no idea if the service has moved elsewhere, if it has it was not widely publicised. I wouldn't know where to go if I wanted to access their services.

Condoms are expensive to buy in most shops and again young teens are likely to feel embarrassed about buying them and worried they'll be spotted buying them by a family member or neighbour.

They don't always realise that their GP is confidential, even when they are underage. And again there is the worry that they'll be found out.

And yes, condoms are "not cool" in the eyes of young males and they will pressure the girl not to use them.

FPCs need to be made more accessible and more widely publicised, especially for younger teens. Their services should be advertised in secondary schools and colleges, maybe even run FPCs or contraception services in schools once a week/fortnight/whatever.

Contraception needs to become "cool". The effects of not using it should be more widely publicised. Not just pregnancy but STDs and STIs and the long term implications of these.

Talking about sex with younger teens should be encouraged. Sex education in schools should be more in depth and start from a younger age. It should cover sex for pleasure as well as for family planning. Teens should be advised about peer pressure and how to avoid it. Educating both males and females about rape should be done from 13 or so. Teach young men that NO means NO, there are no excuses or ifs or buts and that peer pressure will be viewed as rape or sexual assault.

Getorf - no not a set up for the joke. I think it would be a good idea.

...there must be a clever MNer who can code...?

I made a google map of availability of the nuva ring a couple of years ago.

I'm happy to help though a project of this scale would be huge! perhaps I could set up a map, provide the log in, and everyone can add a pin to their own area with comments? and a red pin for bad, an orange pin for ok and a green pin for good contraceptive services?

@himalaya you don' need to be able to code. You could do it by compilign a great big spreadsheet of post codes, ratings and comments and do a mash-up. The guardian are good at those? perhaps we could do something in conjunction with them. ie a thread with [postcode] [rating] [comment] that they then take and put into a big map? Or can anyone here do mashups?

I watched the sex ed DVDs produced by Channel 4 which are currently showing in primary schools. In the last DVD aimed at Year 6 it was mentioned once, and then only briefly, that sex under the age of 16 was illegal.

Yes it told children the names of the different parts of their bodies and how they worked. It told children about having sex and how it leads to pregnancy. It told them (boys and girls) about 'wanking' (yes that word was used in the last DVD).

What it did not touch upon was how to keep yourself safe from unwanted attention.
How it's fine to say no.

I would like to see more emphasis on the different forms of contraception (at secondary school) along with more discussion-led activities.
I would like more discussions on the pressures of having sex amongst teenagers and the reasons why they would want to lose their virginity.
I would like to see more emphasis on children keeping themselves safe, aimed at all levels and what to do if they feel uncomfortable or pressured.
I also want to see discussions on relationships, perhaps looking into why some people want to stay virgins and the different views people have of sex - such as it's a fun thing, it's a loving thing, etc.
Discussions about alcohol and sex should be part of the sex ed at secondary level and what constitutes rape.
Even looking at porn and what young people think about it, how it changes peoples views on sex and how it might lead to young girls being put under pressure to do things they would rather not do.

If you give young people a chance to discuss these issues in open with their friends, teachers, other people then you give them food for thought and you let them know that no subject is off-limits and that not everyone thinks in the same way.

I also think that the pill should be able to be prescribed by a nurse. Currently you are given 3-6 months supply and have to go back to the GP for more. This should be changed to once a year for those women who have reported no problems to make it easier, as it can often take weeks to get an appointment meaning some women have to miss a month of being on the pill.

Condoms should be more regularly available - like in France they should locate dispersal machines outside pharmacies.

More counselling should be made available both before and after an abortion as some women do feel pressurised into having an abortion - by their partners, parents, etc.

No totally agree it WOULD be a good idea himalaya, sorry, was being flippant.

I have no idea how it could be done. But I think that would be a hugely useful tool in helping the powers that be to understand that there is a very key reason why women 'fail to contracept'.

I think that there should be FPC in schools, with contraception and sedxual health drop in clinics. However I doubt something so eminently sensible would be introduced, not with the level of tabloid outrage that would be generated. And it is not exactly a vote winner, is it?

I am very fortunate that I live in a city, hence there is a fpc clinic in the city centre open all hours. However I used to live in the middle of nowhere and know that the nearest clinic was 14 miles away. Useless when you are young and skint.

What happened to Brooke Advisory Clinics? Are they still around?

Himalaya - another one who thinks that is a fab idea.

As you say, you might have to wait weeks for a GP appt just to get a prescription of the pill. It's ridiculous!

I haven't read the whole thread so someone may have already said this.

If abortion rates are rising among older age groups, then policy makers and HCPs should reconsider the policy not to sterilise on request women whose families are complete. It may be more cost effective to give me a Mirena coil, but if that coil fails, I either have to go through an abortion or could be at risk from pregnancy and birth complications because I'm an older mother.