Members of the Royal College of Nursing no doubt had the best of intentions when they called, at their conference in Harrogate, for school nurses to be allowed to prescribe the morning-after pill and other contraceptives. Teenage pregnancy and single-parenthood is a tremendous problem in this country, both financially and socially.

But this surely cannot be a way to tackle it. Having easy access at school to after-the-event contraception might prevent some unwanted pregnancies. But there is every chance that it could lead to an increase in under-age sex and sexually-transmitted diseases (which were revealed in a television programme earlier this week to be a growing problem among young girls).

Jenny Bacon, of Allerton, whose 16-year-old daughter Caroline died 18 months after being prescribed the Pill, understandably holds strong views on this issue. "It's more or less giving the message that if you fancy somebody tomorrow night, have sex, and if anything goes wrong pop in to see the nurse and it will be all right."

That is just the message that teenage boys, particularly, will be quick to latch on to and use to persuade girls that it's all right to have sex, and to take no precautions, because "nurse will sort it out tomorrow". What might start as an emergency service could too easily become routine.

The RCN members seem to fail to understand that having this service available to youngsters will make it all the easier for them to embark on an early sex life. Parents have every right to be upset about it. The RCN should think again.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.