By Jess McCabe | 25 June 2005, 10:22

Teenagers in the United States could soon face a massive hurdle to accessing contraception, as new proposals would see clinics forced to notify their parents at least five days before writing a prescription.

The Feminist Majority Foundation reports that the “Parents Right to Know” Bill was put before both the Senate and the House of Representatives last Tuesday.

Although parents would not have the right to prevent a clinic writing a contraception prescription, this would in practice surely put teenage girls off trying to get the pill in the first place, leading to an explosion in unprotected sex.

This new attack on contraceptive rights comes only weeks after petitions to make the “morning after” pill available over the counter, as it is in the UK, received a contraversial blow when it was revealed that a vote by the US Food and Drugs Administration may have been swung by an evangelical doctor who “prescribes prayer for PMS”.

The doctor, David Hager, allegedly sexually abused his ex-wife repeatedly during the course of their marriage.