Teachers are being advised to encourage underage students who become pregnant to abort their babies under new government guidelines which will come into force tomorrow, pro-life campaigners have claimed.
It is the first time the Government has officially advised teachers to tackle abortion as part of standard sex education and offered guidelines on how to do so.
The guidelines emphasise that, while respecting the religious convictions of pupils and parents, teachers must accept that pregnant girls 'need to know how to access relevant agencies if necessary'. Both pro-life and pro-choice campaigners agree that the term 'relevant agencies' refers to abortion clinics.
The document also says that, while aiming to reduce the number of unwanted teenage pregnancies among students, teachers should encourage students to consider the benefits of abortion if pregnancy does occur.
Pro-life groups are enraged by the campaign, launched after a report found the pregnancy rate among British girls aged 15 to 19 is the highest in Europe, and still rising.
At 6 per cent, the British rate of teenage pregnancy is twice that of Germany's, three times the rate in France and six times that of the Netherlands. Only Canada, New Zealand and the United States have higher rates.
But according to pro-life campaigners, the document, to be read by all head teachers, teachers and school governors, endorses under-age sex and fails to suggest any alternative to unwanted pregnancies other than abortion.
'This document advises teachers to encourage children with unwanted pregnancies to turn immediately to abortion clinics without considering any other option,' said Josephine Quintavalle, campaign manager at the Pro-Life Alliance. 'That's an unacceptable and completely irresponsible thing to do. Abortion is just one of many options open to pregnant women,' she said. 'The Government is losing the plot on the abortion issue: the figures speak for themselves.'
Quintavalle believes helping pregnant girls abort their babies rather than focusing on prevention will only exacerbate the problem of teenage pregnancy.
'How can young people see that underage sex is wrong when they're getting the message in the classroom that underage pregnancies can be sorted out?' she asked.
More than 90,000 teenagers in England fall pregnant each year - 8,000 of them under 16 - and 38 per cent of such pregnancies were terminated in 1998 - almost 39,000 abortions.
The Government hopes the guidelines will protect children from the 'inappropriate teaching and materials' circulating in some schools which oppose abortion.
But Paul Tully, general secretary of the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child, anticipates an outcry once teachers realise what they are being urged to do.
'These new guidelines are incredibly disturbing,' he said. 'The only explicit references made are to abortion and that's a great concern.
'The publication has not yet come to the attention of parents or religious groups but when it does, there will be a great outcry. Many teachers will be appalled by the fact that they are being put in this position where, to fulfil these guidelines, they are being pushed towards a situation where they're being expected to promote abortion.'
The guidelines were welcomed by pro-choice groups, but many believe they do not go far enough.
'Schools need to feel confident that they can provide information to help young people to understand the options open to them but the cowardly way it is dealt with in this document has obviously been influenced by people who will never regard abortion as a positive choice,' said Anne Weyman, chief executive of the Family Planning Association.
Jane Roe of the Abortion Law Reform Association says the guidelines presume that abortion is morally wrong.
'While never an easy decision, abortion could be the best option available to a young girl,' she said. 'We're very disappointed that the Government is still treating abortion as a problem in itself, rather than a solution.'
'It's a powerful indication of what the Government wants schools to do,' said Sarah Colborne, chair of the National Abortion Campaign. 'It's giving teachers who aren't quite sure the clearance to point students in the direction of abortion clinics and giving a clear indication to those who are against choice that they would be failing in their duties if they exclude discussions about the issue from their lessons.'
