Safety Of Third Generation Contraceptive Pills

EDM number 578 in 1998-99, proposed by Jenny Tonge on 21/04/1999.

That this House welcomes the recent decision by the Committee on Safety of Medicines to restore the third generation contraceptive pills to a first line therapy option; regrets the confusion caused by the 1995 judgement which affected 1.5 million women and reversed the falling trend in abortions and unwanted pregnancies; recognises that the risk of venous thromboembolism associated with the use of all contraceptive pills is extremely small and less than half that seen in pregnancy; urges the Government to make a statement on the measures they will take to inform health professionals and the public that for the vast majority of women the Pill remains a very safe and effective option to counter teenage pregnancy; further notes that the United Kingdom teenage pregnancy rate is the highest in the European union; and calls upon the Government to take action to reverse this trend.

This motion has been signed by a total of 29 MPs, 1 of these signatures have been withdrawn.