'Can I have the morning after pill, Miss?'

Rochdale schools will not provide the morning after pill to young girls, despite the government urging the move.

It was reported today (Wednesday 25 March) that schoolgirls nationwide will be able to request the pill by text message to their school nurse - an idea which has been wildly condemned by religious activists.

NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale claim they will play no part in the scheme, although they are happy to provide help and advice on sexual matters to those who need it.

The morning after pill is available to under 16’s from family planning clinics and walk in centres in and around the borough.

Rochdale Online reported in January how Rochdale has experienced a surge in the number of births, with over 3000 babies being born in 2007 at Rochdale Infirmary.

Hilary Pannack, chief executive of the teenage pregnancy charity Straight Talking said: “Some girls won’t want to talk to people face to face, and the process of getting the emergency contraceptive pill should be made easy for them. It’s not going to cause promiscuity. If it means them not going through the trauma of abortion, then it’s valuable.”

A spokesperson from NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale said: “We and Rochdale school health team are not involved in the pilot to enable young people to access emergency contraception via text messaging service and do not expect to provide such a service in the foreseeable future.

“The school health team, alongside other PCT services, do provide support to young people around their sexual health needs.

“This is a holistic service working in partnership with other clinical provision to ensure a supportive service is in place”.