A TEENAGE pregnancy group says it is important teenagers seeking abortions have the choice not to tell their parents.

The Kent Teenage Pregnancy Partnership has come out in strong support of Department of Health guidelines which allow girls under 16 to have an abortion without their parents' permission.

The partnership's teenage pregnancy co-ordinator, Ruth Herron, says there are many young girls who feel they cannot talk to their parents about having an abortion.

She has spoken out two weeks after the start of Manchester mother Sue Axon's High Court battle to give parents the right to be informed if their child is seeking an abortion.

Ms Herron said: "We never refer a young person for a termination lightly.

"With each case we assess to see if the girl really has an understanding of what she is doing and we always offer counselling as part of this process.

"We always advise young girls to talk to their parents and we do find many parents are supportive.

"However, I would be concerned if we were legally obliged to inform parents.

"This runs the risk of pushing young girls away from our service and, ultimately, they may get no intervention or help at all or take the path of using the back streets."

Ms Herron stressed the importance of allowing young girls to be in control of the situation.

In Joyce Green and Greenhithe, more than one in 10 girls conceive under the age of 18, according to Government statistics. This is three times the national average.

In Dartford and Gravesham, the figure is one in 20 and one in 26 respectively.

The partnership, based in Dover, was set up in 1999 with the aim of reducing conception rates for girls aged under 18 by 50 per cent across Kent by 2010. By 2003 the rate had been reduced by 15.6 per cent.

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