Earlier contraception advice urged

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32998, 18 August 1972, Page 21

Earlier contraception advice urged

Advice on the use of contraceptives should be made legally available to youngpeople below the age of 16 years, the president of the New Zealand Medical Association (Dr E. Geiringer) said on Wednesday.

Dr Geiringer was commenting from Wellington on a seminar on contraception which will be held for Christchurch secondary school pupils next Sunday.

The present law which makes it an offence if a

person “instructs or persuades or attempts to instruct or persuade any child under the age of 16 years to use any contraceptive,” was absurd, Dr Geiringer said, and did not take into account the fact that the age of sexual maturity had dropped considerably since the law was passed in 1954.

More than 400 babies were born to girls under the age of 16 years in New Zealand last year, Dr Geiringer said.

“It is ridiculous that those who must deal with this problem are not allowed to give advice to these young people who obviously need it,” he said.

It was already “common practice” for doctors to prescribe the birth control pill to girls under the age of 16 who were sexually active, he said. “Yet others, like teachers, health officers and probation officers were unable to give contraceptive advice when they see the obvious need for it.” There would be no difficulty in retaining the spirit of the present law if it was changed to allow contraceptive instruction to be given by qualified people, Dr Geiringer said.

The N.Z.M.A., he said, had a long-standing policy for the law to be changed “or repealed altogether” and fully supported attempts being made by many other organisations to have sex education introduced at schools.

“I’d even approve of contraception being taught to children of primary school age. At least young people would then be taught what personal responsibility was instead of the present 'cloak and dagger* attitudes.”