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UK pilot study concludes that 13-year-olds should be able to buy birth control pills at pharmacies
A pilot study in south-east London has concluded that girls as young as 13 should be allowed to buy birth control pills at pharmacies. A report found that 46% of the girls involved in the pilot had not used the pill before. [Guardian, 25 April] Anthony Ozimic of SPUC commented: "Some years ago similar pilot schemes were conducted prior to the morning-after pill being authorised for prescription-free sale in pharmacies. It is clear that the main criteria for success in these studies is the uptake of teenagers using the pills. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy designed to mislead policy-makers."

UK Equalities Minister to promote 'family planning' in visit to Africa
Lynne Featherstone, Britain's Equalities Minister will promote so-called 'family planning' in a visit this week to Africa. The government announced that 'family planning' was one of the issues at the "top of the agenda" for the visit. [Home Office, 24 April]  The current British government has made supporting abortion, contraception and so-called gay rights priorities for its international development agenda.

Other stories:

Abortion

• "I'm childless at 42 and haunted by the baby I aborted at 18" [Mail, 26 April]
• Yeehaw watch out for "American tactics and American money" [SPUC youth blog, 25 April]
• UK men accused of running child prostitution also charged with procuring abortion [BBC, 24 April]
• Marie Stopes: The other side of the story [SPUC youth blog, 24 April]
• Letter to the Guardian reveals the sad effects of abortion for parents [SPUC youth blog, 23 April]
• US priest celebrates Mass outside abortion centre [LifeSiteNews.com, 23 April]
• Amnesty International tells Dominican Republic votes to elect a pro-abortion president [Amnesty International, 23 April]
• Further report on defeat of proabortion bill in Ireland [Pat Buckley, 20 April]
• Medics led the way in the nineteenth century pro-life movement [SPUC youth blog, 18 April]

Embryology

• IVF drugs linked to childhood cancer, suggest French researchers [Telegraph, 24 April]

Euthanasia

• Nurse filmed slapping elderly Alzheimer's sufferer at care home [Telegraph, 23 April]

Population

• Blind Chinese activist's 'mystery' escape [ITV, 27 April]
• The Neo-Malthusian League and the origins of the birth control movement [SPUC youth blog, 17 April]

Sexual ethics

• Speaker of the House of Commons to attend gay rights march [Pink Paper, 27 April]
• Papal nuncio to Great Britain speaks out on sexual ethics [Catholic Herald, 27 April]
• UK pilot study concludes that 13-year-olds should be able to buy birth control pills at pharmacies [Guardian, 25 April]
• Britain has world's 3rd highest proportion of sexually-active teens, study suggests [Mail, 25 April]
• UK education minister says educational success can reduce need for school sex-ed [Telegraph, 24 April]

General

• Watch this wonderful pro-life video [John Smeaton, 25 April]
• Croagh Patrick: Annual climb for life [Pat Buckley, 24 April]
• US pro-life champion Charles Colson dies aged 80 [NRLC, 24 April]

To subscribe to SPUC's email information services, please visit www.spuc.org.uk/em-signup. The reliability of the news herein is dependent on that of the cited sources, which are paraphrased rather than quoted. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the society. © Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, 2018