Teen pregnancy problem admitted

LATVIA'S family planning chief has blamed a lack of sex education for the rising number of abortions in Guernsey. Local doctors have accused guest workers from the former Soviet republic of using abortion as free contraception.

One even blamed a lack of 'moral qualms' and differing attitudes for the rocketing number of Latvian women having multiple abortions.

But Iveta Kelle, chief executive of Latvia's Association of Family Planning and Sexual Health, said that young women in her country were kept in the dark over sex.

'Young women in Latvia suffer from a lack of sex education in schools.

'Many 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds do have not the information to protect themselves against pregnancy, HIV, Aids and other sexually-transmitted diseases.

'It is this lack of education on birth control that is resulting in many girls getting pregnant at a very young age,' she said.

Teenage pregnancy is a huge problem in Latvia. Mrs Kelle said that last year, 400 girls up to the age of 17 had had an abortion. This was just over 2% of the whole population.

Last week director of public health Dr David Jeffs said that countries with a history of secular regimes had left a legacy of abortion as a legitimate means of birth control.

But Mrs Kelle said Latvia was now a modern country and a wide variety of contraceptives were available.

She added: 'It is true that under Soviet rule abortion was the only means of contraception available for women. But since then, like the rest of Europe, there are other means of birth control women can use.

'The Pill is now widely used by younger women in Latvia.'

She believes women migrating from Latvia to Guernsey might be discouraged from visiting the doctor.

Speaking from her office in Latvia, she said: 'I have not spoken to any of the Latvian women working in Guernsey but I would guess a reason for the trend is that women are afraid to see the doctor.

'A language barrier and even a lack of access to a doctor because of medical insurance could be obstacles.'

With the former Russian republic recently joining the European Union, Mrs Kelle said that sexual health was way down the list of priorities for the country's decision-makers.

She added: 'Even though contraception is widely available, it is difficult to get the message across to young people.

'There are policies to help prevent teenage pregnancies and to promote the use of contraception. However, politicians are not implementing these.

'It is a lack of funds to implement the policies and since our integration into the EU, this is not seen as a priority.'