UK parents battle sterilization moves by their under age girls
May 4,2004,  London  (ANI):

Millions Parents in London are reportedly a worried lot these days, as their young daughters are getting themselves sterilized for upto three years without permission.

According to The Mirror, a row has broken out after government figures revealed that 400 girls under the age of 16 have been fitted with the contraceptive implants without their parents' consent.

This is done by putting a one-and-a-half inch rod in their arms by doctors under local anesthetic. The rods release synthetic hormones that stop the girls from producing eggs.

Another 500 girls under 15 have also had injections of contraceptives to make them infertile for three months. Doctors are concerned about the consequences of giving a dose of synthetic hormones to girls whose bodies are still developing. The rods need to be taken out if the girl wants to have a baby.

This has also raised the question of how men will take advantage of young girls' and how these girls, who are still to young, will engage in promiscuous sex.

"I do not believe a doctor who does this to an under-16 year old girl without her parents' knowledge is acting in an ethically acceptable way. Doctors are giving carte blanche to men to have sex with under-age girls," said Dr Trevor Stammers of the Family Education Trust.

Shadow children's minister Tom Loughton, who obtained the figures, said he was concerned it would encourage promiscuity.

Immature pregnancies in London have become a matter of great concern after statistics revealed that last year the number of under-18s getting pregnant in England rose by 800 on 2002 to 40,086. The Government had hoped to halve the number of underage pregnancies by 2010.