No girls aged 10 should not be given the pill, I believe that the
although some Girls mature earlier than others the pill should not be prescribed until the legal age of consent and then only after a full consultation has taken place with the Girls Parents or Guardians - the responsibility should lay with the Parents or Mother and not the Goverment for all births outside of Marriage exceptions being cases of non consent.

Before eveyone jumps to a conclusion, my partner went on the pill aged 12, to combat acne and cronic period pains. She was not sexually active until years later. Even if these girls are sexual active (god forbid!), isn't it better to have a 10 yr old on the pill than pregnant?

At least if these girls do get raped they won't be worried about getting pregnant. I can see it could be alarming, but it's only a protective measure.

i suggest that very few girls under 14 are sexually active, regardless of what tabloid papers say. the pill has many benefits in addition to contraception, such as for acne and migraine and period pain. but if a 10 year old was having sex (i dont like the idea but what can we do?) i think i would rather she didnt get pregnant. in an ideal world people would wait until they are mature enough to start having sex, but they dont, at least prescribing the pill and using condoms will minimise the physical risks.

I agree, I was put on the pill at the age of 11, to combat severe periods pains which were keeping me from attending school. The pill improved them dramitically.

Responding to the first comment - i work with youth in north london, and --at least-- 50%, probably closer to 70% in some areas, of girls 14 and under - are sexually active. The family structure is greatly damaged in a majority of cases while boredom and media influence reigns in youths' lives.

I myself am on the pill for acne so I believe that this could have been prescribed with this in mind. I have also found though that I suffer no period pain now whereas I used to before taking it. I believe that the benefits of taking pill are practically endless. At the end of the day I agree whole heartedly with what most people have said in that it is better for a 10 year old to be on the pill than to be pregnant.

If the pill is prescribed for acne or period pains and it's the best treatment for these conditions, then ok, but come on, would you really believe your daughter was mature enough at 10 to decide that she was old enough to be having sex, and also to be requesting the pill? It turns my stomach over! Whatever happened to childhood.

It is a proven fact that giving children sex education and access to contraceptives does not increase sexual behaviour. It is also a fact that that sex education and access to contraceptives reduces sexually transmitted diseases and teenage pregnancy. An example of the sucess of this way of thinking is the Nererlands, with one of the lowest levels of teen preganacy in the world.

What sort of question is this???
I wonder if the editor of thought he would ask it really used his neurones!!! Honestly!!!

The 'lesser evil' for a pregnant girl is not to impose on her an early abortifacient pill but rather to provide her with the loving support of her family, relatives and real friends.

It is scandalous that people support, either tacitly or implicitly the abuse and exploitation of what is such a young and immature child. Children should be protected from such situations of sexual and emotional exploitation by peers and other young people brain-washed by this sexually-centred society.

To avoid the emotional traumas and serious consequences that follow from such irresponsible behaviour, the adults, whom they watch, need to start being examples of true love and maturity themselves!

left with the situation REALITY one has following options: administer pill - end of story (except the need for concealing of course!), deny pill then decide on - 1.abortion (still more counselling) 2.force birth, 10 year old becomes a mother 3.sprog adopted? how much of a religious brain donor do you need to be.

Quote:
"At least if these girls do get raped they won't be worried about getting pregnant. I can see it could be alarming, but it's only a protective measure."

Shouldn't we prevent the girls from being raped in the first place? Telling your children about sex could be effective. Having your children take self-defense courses would be good to. I don't think there is a lower age limit with that.

At the end of the day not even a condom could stop you getting raped so never mind the pill what harm is it doing this as nothing at all to do with being raped its to stop the amount of young girls getting pregnant. yes when girls as young as ten are asking for the pill they should be told about other aspects of having sex but at least they are using their heads to provent getting pregnant unlike most youngsters. i would be mortifiyed if my ten year old was asking for the pill but i would also agree for her to have it as i would not want my baby having babies, but in this day and age parents cannot stop their children doing much, if they put their minds to it they will do it,

Add the end of the day its two girls, and we don't know why they were prescribed it! Can we really draw any conclusions or make meaningful comments?

No one here belives children should be having sex. In fact the law says they can't until they are 16.

But what does that mean?
People on this board probably know where their 10 years olds or teenagers are most of the time - and they are most likely not having sex.

But for that tiny minority of abused or neglected kids, who are sexually active short of locking them up 24/7, even with all teh counselling and advice in the world you cannot guarentee they won't have sex if they are determined.

In which case a contraceptive is certainly a good idea.