document: Morning-after pill free for teenage girls in Wales Under-age girls can now obtain the morning-after pill free from high street chemists in Wales . Emergency contraception will be given out over the counter as part of an initiative to reduce unplanned pregnancies and abortions . More than 700 community pharmacies will be able to dispense the pill to girls younger than 16 if they believe it is `` clinically appropriate '' , with parts of Wales having some of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Europe . The move was announced last year so that women and girls would be able to obtain professional advice and services without appointment , within the 72 hours after sex when emergency contraception is most effective . Steve Simmonds of the National Pharmacy Association said : `` The decision in Wales is a clear endorsement of the expertise and unique accessibility of community pharmacy . `` Although this service is already offered in Scotland and in many parts of England , we 'd like to see it everywhere in the UK free of charge . '' The morning-after pill , most commonly Levonelle , is already available free from GP surgeries and sexual health clinics across Britain , and in pharmacies in Scotland and some parts of England . Elsewhere it costs about # 25 . Outside Wales , pharmacists are not supposed to sell emergency contraception to under-16s other than in `` exceptional circumstances '' and are meant to refer girls to a GP instead . Some groups have claimed that the decision to allow Welsh pharmacists to hand out the morning-after pill will encourage irresponsible behaviour , or stop young girls receiving important information from doctors . Josephine Quintavalle , the founder of Comment on Reproductive Ethics , said : `` It 's absolutely the wrong way to address the problems of high rates of teenage pregnancy in Wales . The idea that young girls can just walk into a chemist will mean they become even less responsible about sexuality . '' Dr Marina Arulanandam of the Llandaff Surgery in Cardiff told the BBC : `` It 's important young people know the dangers of unprotected intercourse . `` It 's not just pregnancy they should worry about , it 's Sexually Transmitted Diseases - these are huge problems we need to be addressing and I do n't think the pharmacies will have enough time to do this . '' A spokesman for the Department of Health said : `` Emergency contraception is already free in a range of NHS settings in England but there are no plans to introduce free supply in all pharmacies . Our policy is focused on improving access to more reliable forms of contraception . This has resulted in reducing rates of teenage pregnancies and abortions . `` If people under the age of sixteen feel they are ready for sex , they should have the information and advice they need to make responsible choices . Decisions are best made with a healthcare professional , who can discuss the range of contraceptive methods available . ''
extractive_keyphrases: intercourse decisions dangers pharmacies initiative exceptional settings emergency llandaff surgery unplanned dr marina arulanandam scotland irresponsible teenage department resulted appointment morningafter pregnancy josephine contraception endorsement information problems receiving england responsible sexually improving simmonds diseases wales professional cardiff sixteen bbc pharmacists uk abortions gp national pharmacy association sex clinically appropriate dispense nhs pregnancies chemists reproductive ethics healthcare
abstractive_keyphrases: exceptional circumstances