French girls get morning after pill

The French parliament has approved a law allowing schools to distribute the morning after pill which is for use after intercourse to prevent pregnancy.

Teenage girls will now be able to obtain the pill from school nurses -- or from pharmacists -- without the need for parental approval.

Supporters of the legislation, which is among the most liberal of its kind in Europe, say it will help to reduce the high level of unwanted teenage pregnancies in France, estimated at around ten thousand a year.

But opponents say it will lead to a less responsible attitude towards sex.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service