JOHN SMEATON, DIRECTOR OF SPUC: Morning-after pill leads to higher rates of sexually-transmitted infections, study suggests

Monday, 20 April 2015

Morning-after pill leads to higher rates of sexually-transmitted infections, study suggests

A recently-published study suggests that access to morning-after pills leads to higher rates of sexually-transmitted infections (STIs). The study was authored by Dr Karen Mulligan, associate professor of economics and finance at Middle Tennessee State University, USA. [Wiley Online Library, accessed 20 April] Dr David Paton, professor of industrial economics at Nottingham University Business School, told SPUC today: "It is very interesting to see further confirmation that access to emergency birth control (EBC) does not seem to reduce abortions but leads to higher rates of STIs. This paper is one of the first to explore the mechanisms whereby EBC affects STIs, finding that both rates of 'unprotected' sex and numbers of partners increase in response to over-the-counter EBC. Although this paper uses US data, it is consistent with evidence from the UK. In the light of the evidence from this paper, local and national governments urgently need to review their current policy of aggressive promotion of EBC to young people in schools, pharmacies and sexual health centres."

Other stories:

Abortion

Women having abortions to end morning sickness [BBC, 20 April]
Archbishop of Brussels laments 25th anniversary of abortion law [Genethique, 7 April]

Euthanasia

Senior figures in palliative medicine restate the doctors' case for opposing assisted suicide for their patients [Care Not Killing, 10 April]

Family issues

Girls face 'sharp rise in emotional problems' [BBC, 20 April]
Transgender father becomes another 'mother' to nine-year-old son [Mail, 19 April]

Fertility

Woman who delayed having children until her 30s urges other women not to delay motherhood [Mail, 20 April]
The parents who help fund the cost of their own IVF grandchildren [Mail, 19 April]
Sofia Vergara lawsuit: who owns frozen embryos? [Live Science via Yahoo!, 16 April]
Britain's oldest mother says German woman pregnant with quads at 65 is 'selfish' [Mail, 15 April]

Population

Sex education in Europe turns to urging more births [New York Times, 8 April]

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About Me

I became involved in SPUC after graduating, when I established a branch in south London in 1974. I have worked full-time for SPUC for 42 years. I became chief executive of SPUC in the UK in 1996, having been general secretary since 1978. I was elected vice-president of International Right to Life Federation in 2005. At UN conferences in Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing, Istanbul and Rome, I helped coordinate more than 150 pro-life/pro-family groups resulting in pro-life victories in Cairo, Istanbul and Rome. I was educated at Salesian College, London, before going to Oxford where I graduated in English Language and Literature. I qualified as a teacher, becoming head of English at a secondary school. I am married to Josephine. We have a grown-up family and we live in north London.