All y’all remember Einstein’s famous quip about the definition of insanity? “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. “
The number of teenage pregnancies leapt last year, despite all Labour’s efforts to increase sex education and contraception among children and the young.
The increase appears to have struck a death blow to the Government’s long-standing pledge to halve rates of pregnancy among girls under 18.
It means Britain will entrench its position, already deeply embarrassing to ministers, as the country with by far the highest teenage pregnancy levels in Europe.
Officials in Whitehall admitted yesterday that last year, far from falling, the figures were ‘slightly higher’.
In fact, the indicators show that 2007 is likely to have seen the first major jump in teenage conceptions in a decade.
The obvious solution? More of the same.
The sudden rise may have inspired a series of new efforts by ministers to intensify sex education and persuade more girls to use contraception.
This week the Health Department announced trials of a scheme to allow women to get the contraceptive Pill at chemists without a prescription. The idea – aimed mainly at teenagers – is likely to develop into a nationwide system to make the Pill available over the counter.
I am officially dubbing this particular brand of insanity Abstinence Shunning Syndrome (ASS). Those suffering from ASS cannot see the obvious. Teach more about sex. Give out more contraception. Get More sex.
In order to reduce teen sex and unwed pregnancy, we must first treat those ASS sufferers. The preferred treatment for this malady is to smack the ASS (sufferer) as many times as needed to get them to stop being an ASS (sufferer). Now, even if smacking the ASS (sufferer) does not stop them from being an ASS (sufferer) or even if they become more of an ASS (sufferer), be sure to continue smacking the ASS (sufferer). I am quite sure that it will eventually work.
December 17, 2008 at 5:42 am
With stories coming from England in rapid-fire succession on how messed up things are over there, I’m wondering if they’ve reached the “point of no return” in terms of ever regaining just a vestige of their Christian heritage.
December 17, 2008 at 9:57 am
It’s not all bad over here, Larry. 🙂
As for this, however, it’s just insane. The pill is free over here, as is going to a doctor, so it’s not like it’s that difficult to pop into your local GP and ask for the pill. It’s unlikely they’ll even do an exam on the girl before writing the prescription. Then you go next door to the pharmacist and 30 minutes later walk out with the pills. With it already being this easy, and the plan not working, I don’t understand why they think cutting out the GP will work.
More than that, however, is the health risk. Besides my own objections to the pill, some women should, under no circumstances, be on it. One of my friends had her cholesterol sky-rocket when she went on the pill; thankfully it went back down as soon as she stopped taking it. But if she hadn’t been under the care of her doctor, it could have been much worse than it was.
December 17, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Good point, Susan. It has a lot of nasty side effects, including weight gain and/or difficulty losing weight, feeling sad, etc. It’s a tricky business to mess around with hormones, and should only be done if there is medical necessity (a diagnosed imbalance, not “birth control”).
I don’t think it makes any sense to promote other things the most effective method of preventing crisis pregnancies. Abstinence has a 100% success rate… other devices are not so close. Of course, I can just see them insisting it’s because people don’t know how to use them properly..
December 17, 2008 at 2:21 pm
There’s a book out called “Predictable Irrationality” by a behavioral economist that actually addresses this issue.
He did experiments on how people’s decision making is affected by arousal.
And he found out that (shock!)people in sexual situations aren’t rational, and teens are even less so…
So basically, once they’re already to the point where they’re going to sleep together, they’re not going to BOTHER to use birth control, no matter how much sex-ed they’ve had.
He reccomended supplementing traditional sex ed with lessons on how to avoid situations that might get you into trouble in the first place….
hmmm…. sounds an awful lot like “Avoiding occasions of sin”… but it’s scientific, so maybe the schools will pick it up?
December 17, 2008 at 2:47 pm
One of the ironies of hormonal birth control is that some women who take it find that their sex drive is depressed.
December 17, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I’d like to do more research on this. To get into the mind of the Abstinence Shunning Syndrome sufferer. To tap that ASS, if you will.
December 17, 2008 at 5:10 pm
ASSinine!
As Susan mentioned, birth control pills are under prescription for a reason? Different ones work differently on different women and have different side effects. I can’t believe anyone thinks it’s a good idea to let teenagers with raging hormones take pills that further alter with their hormone levels without any supervision.
December 18, 2008 at 6:29 am
Susan, I lived in the UK for 3 years and can agree that it’s not all bad : ) But what IS bad is the current UK government’s skewed and unballanced secularist agenda (remember when they banned crosses?) where the word Christmas is banned but any Mohammedan named Achmed can lay down a rug anywhere he wants. This same secular agenda has taken morality out of the public space and left a vaccuum for the British youth. Girls see having a baby as an easy path to independence since a) the state will provide them with housing, food, and other assistence b) it means they can leave home and start out on their own c) society doesn’t look down on single mothers anymore and d) these girls experience little change in their social life by having a baby.
Honestly, I have not seen a more drunken immoral society, especial amongst the youth in any country I have lived in. I dreaded going on the tube anytime past 3:00PM on Friday to Sunday Eve, since it was always full of foul-smelling drunkards– many of them just children. And whereas in other countries it’s frowned upon to be drunk in public, in the UK it’s a badge of honour and a cause for long stories come Monday.
I understand this may sound harsh, but as per the statistics, it is a very harsh situation. And the rise of Mohammedanism AND teen pregnancy in the UK is a direct consequence of the reduction of morality and Christian values.
December 18, 2008 at 9:26 am
Deusdonat,
Of course it isn’t perfect, and work needs to be done, as with anywhere. 🙂 I never experienced that about the Tube, but I haven’t ridden the Tube in a while (I’m in Liverpool, not London).
Regarding the topic of the pill, we need more education about alternatives. While I’d love it if everyone subscribed to the Church’s view on contraceptives, I know that isn’t the case. But that isn’t the only reason to reject contraceptives. I already mentioned the health reasons, but there’s also the environmental reason. One of my friends here went off the pill for environmental reasons, actually. Since being ‘green’ is promoted a lot here, I think that could be a successful approach. Or at least a start. 🙂