英中学瞒家长给女生打针避孕

Hundreds of girls as young as 13 are receiving contraceptive injections and implants at school.

Hundreds of girls as young as 13 are receiving contraceptive injections and implants at school, a nationwide study has revealed.

School nurses have given implants or jabs to girls aged 13 to 16 more than 900 times since 2010. A further 7,400 girls aged 15 or under - and therefore under the age of consent - received the contraception at family planning clinics.

Due to patient confidentiality rules, nurses are not allowed to inform parents before or after the procedure without the pupil's express permission.

Implants and jabs are now offered in schools in Bristol, Berkshire, Peterborough, West Midlands, Northumbria and Country Durham according to a survey by The Daily Telegraph, using Freedom of Information laws.

It could be far more widespread as many trusts said they did not record the figures, while others cited patient confidentiality.

Critics of the scheme have warned that offering contraception to under-16s could skew a teenager's attitude to sex and hinder their development.

A breakdown of the figures revealed NHS Bristol had provided the contraceptive jab on 430 occasions to children aged 13 to 16. This included 19 jabs offered to 13 year-olds. The city has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in the country.

The teenage pregnancy rate in England and Wales fell to 34,633 in 2010, the lowest rate since 1969. This included 6,674 pregnancies in under-16s. However, the rate is still around twice as high as that in France and Germany.

Dr Dan Poulter, the health minister said: 'Young people under the age of 16 are legally able to access contraceptive and sexual health services and any advice given will be kept confidential.

'However, the health professional must always encourage a young person to talk to their parents about their sexual health.'

(Read by CJ Henderson. CJ Henderson is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

双语资讯

(Agencies)

英国一项最新研究表明，英国多所中学为13岁以上的女生打避孕针或皮下埋植避孕药。

自2010年开始，学校医护人员为13到16岁之间的女生打避孕针或皮下埋植避孕药多达900余次。此外还有7400名15岁或以下的女生在计生诊所内接受避孕，这当然低于法定年龄。

基于病人保密原则，如果没有得到学生的允许，护士们禁止事前征求学生家长的许可，事后也不准通知家长。

《每日电讯报》根据《自由信息法》开展的调查显示，目前，布里斯托尔、伯克郡、彼得堡、西米德兰兹、诺森比亚、达勒姆郡的中学都在为少女避孕。

由于相关机构称未保存记录，或要为病人保密，接受避孕的少女人数可能更高。

该计划的批评者提醒称，给不到16岁的未成年少女避孕会扭曲青少年对性的态度，也会阻碍她们的成长。

数据显示，布里斯托尔国民医疗服务系统共举办了430次为13-16岁女避孕的活动，其中，以13岁女生为对象的共19次。布里斯托尔是全英少女怀孕率最高的地区。

2010年，英格兰和威尔士地区未成年人怀孕率已降至34633起，是1969年以来的最低水平，其中16岁以下少女怀孕有6674起。但仍是法国和德国的两倍。

英国卫生部长丹-鲍特博士说：“16岁以下的年轻人可以合法地接受避孕和性卫生服务，医护人员给他们的任何建议都会保密。”

“但是，医疗专业人士必须鼓励年轻人与父母交流自己的性健康问题。”

Vocabulary:

skew：歪曲；曲解；使歪斜