Young pregnant women lack help and support from doctors
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《英国医生杂志》
Campaigners have criticised doctors for failing to provide adequate services for young pregnant women and have expressed concern over where women go for help and support.
Speaking at the launch of a new abortion education resource pack for teachers, Lisa Hallgarten, programme manager of Education for Choice, which helps young people to make an informed choice around pregnancy and abortion, said that women are being forced to travel for miles to have an abortion after 12 weeks.
"This is a problem that抯 growing in the medical profession as we know that more and more doctors are reticent about providing abortions. GPs are also opting out of referring women for an abortion," said Ms Hallgarten. "We抮e very anxious about the messages they抮e going to receive from their GPs. It抯 really luck of the draw which door you walk through and what kind of reception and support you抮e going to get. The government抯 Sexual Health strategy makes it absolutely clear that doctors must refer on; they must make it absolutely clear where people can access referrals."
Concern was also expressed at the growing number of independent pregnancy agencies that Ms Hallgarten says are "affiliated to organisations whose agenda it is to prevent women from accessing abortion."
One in four women will experience abortion, but Education for Choice says that discussion of abortion is surrounded by myth and taboo.
Earlier this year, a report by the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV for the Department of Health said that personal, social, and health education lessons should include information about choice and that awareness campaigns on sexual health should tackle issues of abortion as a choice. It concluded: "Only in this way will we begin to end the culture of taboo and silence which surrounds abortion." But the government has fallen short of issuing any specific guidelines.
However, Education for Choice hopes that its resource pack for teachers will help young people to make informed choices about pregnancy and abortion with access to accurate, impartial information. The pack includes lesson plans, practical tools, and fact sheets that can be used in different subjects, with activities aimed at providing opportunities for students to explore their own opinions and understand others?beliefs.
Gill Frances, director of Children抯 Development at the National Children抯 Bureau and deputy chairwoman of the Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy, offered support to the initiative.
"Children say, 慽t抯 not fair that we抮e going to have to make these difficult decisions and you抮e not helping us; you抮e not getting us ready.?
"We抮e also sexually unhealthy. We have various strategies that tell us that regularly. This doesn抰 just sit in sex education. It sits across the whole curriculum and the wider community," she said.(London Deborah Cohen)
Speaking at the launch of a new abortion education resource pack for teachers, Lisa Hallgarten, programme manager of Education for Choice, which helps young people to make an informed choice around pregnancy and abortion, said that women are being forced to travel for miles to have an abortion after 12 weeks.
"This is a problem that抯 growing in the medical profession as we know that more and more doctors are reticent about providing abortions. GPs are also opting out of referring women for an abortion," said Ms Hallgarten. "We抮e very anxious about the messages they抮e going to receive from their GPs. It抯 really luck of the draw which door you walk through and what kind of reception and support you抮e going to get. The government抯 Sexual Health strategy makes it absolutely clear that doctors must refer on; they must make it absolutely clear where people can access referrals."
Concern was also expressed at the growing number of independent pregnancy agencies that Ms Hallgarten says are "affiliated to organisations whose agenda it is to prevent women from accessing abortion."
One in four women will experience abortion, but Education for Choice says that discussion of abortion is surrounded by myth and taboo.
Earlier this year, a report by the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV for the Department of Health said that personal, social, and health education lessons should include information about choice and that awareness campaigns on sexual health should tackle issues of abortion as a choice. It concluded: "Only in this way will we begin to end the culture of taboo and silence which surrounds abortion." But the government has fallen short of issuing any specific guidelines.
However, Education for Choice hopes that its resource pack for teachers will help young people to make informed choices about pregnancy and abortion with access to accurate, impartial information. The pack includes lesson plans, practical tools, and fact sheets that can be used in different subjects, with activities aimed at providing opportunities for students to explore their own opinions and understand others?beliefs.
Gill Frances, director of Children抯 Development at the National Children抯 Bureau and deputy chairwoman of the Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy, offered support to the initiative.
"Children say, 慽t抯 not fair that we抮e going to have to make these difficult decisions and you抮e not helping us; you抮e not getting us ready.?
"We抮e also sexually unhealthy. We have various strategies that tell us that regularly. This doesn抰 just sit in sex education. It sits across the whole curriculum and the wider community," she said.(London Deborah Cohen)