Madrid, Spain, Oct 17, 2005 / 22:00 pm
A report issued by health officials in Valencia, Spain, indicates that in the last four years, the number of teen pregnancies in the country has risen from 15.4 cases per 1000 in the year 2000, to 17 cases per 1000 in 2003.
Vicente Rambla, a government health official in Valencia, admitted that efforts to reduced teen pregnancy have been unsuccessful, and he said the data from the report would serve as a basis for a new health plan for 2005-2008, which would emphasize the need to “boost education and foster debate on sexuality.”
Rambla stated that teens are engaging in sexual activity at an increasingly earlier age not only because they don’t have adequate information but also because they have greater access to contraception. Such factors make it more difficult to achieve the “desired results,” he said.
Nevertheless, Rambla said he would not change the policy that allows teens to obtain the morning-after pill without a prescription.