Medicine
Top marks for sex
John Linklater
It is hard to understand the reasoning that underlies the government decision to extend its free french-letter service to include children of any age thus, tacitly, revoking the age of consent. If anything was asking for trouble, that is.
Three thousand girls under school-leaving age have already been given abortions in one year. This represents every girl in each of the top forms at more than one hundred average schools. Without the deterrent of age of consent, promiscuity must increase: they have taken the wrong decision.
The more that these little perishers are taught sexual techniques, and the more lavishly they are equipped with condoms, the more actively promiscuous will they become. The incidence of venereal disease and abortion will rise. Children will come to look upon sex as a school subject with marks and examinations, and as many practical homework sessions as their ingenuity can devise.
One of the characteristic features of children is their explora
tory, experimental, indefatigability. Young ones are always wedging heads through railings, pencils into keyholes and beans up noses. As they get older, they may get into fewer scrapes, but they remain just as inquisitive. So, now the Government gives them condoms to play with, and full instructions for use. I can think of many more useful gifts from the public purse.
Children, furthermore, are awful practical jokers and hopelessly irresponsible. There is every probability that a fair number of the 3,000 tragic, child abortees honestly thought that he had it
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