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Pharmacists to help pregnant teens

Pregnant teenagers unsure of their options will soon be able to get advice from pharmacists knowledgeable about the social resources available to them.

The Garden of Hope Foundation and the National Union of Pharmacist Associations Republic of China yesterday launched the program to train pharmacists, who are often the first people teenagers consult if they are pregnant.

"We are very happy to be working with the association, because the pharmacy is the first stop for youths with pregnancy worries," said Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容), chief executive officer of the foundation.

"When a girl suspects she is pregnant, the first thing she usually does is try to find out, most typically through over-the-counter pregnancy tests. We hope that through this collaboration, youths can find out about their options as early as possible," Chi said.

The foundation and union are calling for pharmacists all over the country to enroll in foundation-held workshops about social resources for pregnant teenagers.

After the training, the pharmacists will be given a "license" and a logo of a cartoon Adam and Eve to display in their pharmacies. The foundation hopes that youths who see the logos will be encouraged to ask the pharmacists about pregnancy concerns.

The two groups hope to have 1,200 to 1,400 pharmacists participate in the project by the summer, which Chi described as the "pregnancy season," when youths have more free time following the end of the academic year.

The foundation stressed the importance of readily available information about sex, saying that many youths today are sexually active. In 2001, about 10,000 babies, or 4.57 percent of all births, were born to underage mothers (ages 15-19), according to the Ministry of the Interior.

Most young girls, said Cheng Min-ching (鄭敏青), a manager with the foundation, opt to abort their pregnancies. However, Cheng said, abortion costs can be high and parental consent may be needed, forcing many to seek illegal abortions.

Girls under 20 years old must have parental consent to have an abortion, the foundation said, which may cost up to NT$30,000 for fetuses over 5 months gestation.
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