THE number of women having abortions in the Lothians has reached record levels, with 50 taking place every week.
Health chiefs have urged couples to have a more responsible attitude to relationships and said more needed to be done to inform young people about the dangers of unprotected sex.
The city council's education leaders have defended their sex educati
on programme.
But Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, said he was "horrified" by the statistics.
He said: "The increasing rate of abortions has been something of intense concern to me over the past two years. I'm horrified to hear the latest statistics from the Lothian region.
"We used to say we were living in a post-Christian society, I would say at this present time we are living in a post-human society, where life seems to count for less and less, and we are just accepting that.
"No-one seems to be concerned and judging by last week's voting in the Houses of Parliament, MPs don't seem to be concerned about it either."
MPs rejected calls to reduce the upper time limit on abortions from 24 weeks to 22 weeks.
In Edinburgh, the number of women under 20 having abortions was higher in 2006 and 2007, than in all previous years, at 359 and 356 respectively.
The number of women of all ages having abortions in Edinburgh has dipped slightly, to 1662 last year.
Dr Dermot Gorman, consultant in public health at NHS Lothian, said: "Although the numbers of abortions in Lothian have slightly increased, abortion rates in Lothian have been largely stable at around 14 per 1000 women of reproductive age for the past decade.
"However, we are not content with the position as it stands and are continuing to work hard to promote sexual health education and a responsible approach to relationships and sex."
NHS Lothian has worked hard to deliver a safe sex message through its family planning and Well Woman service in Edinburgh, with 13 outreach clinics throughout Lothian, 70 c:card outlets throughout Lothian, and 23 Healthy Respect Drop-in Clinics.
Schools are also trying to do their part to educate children about the dangers of unprotected sex.
A city council spokeswoman said: "All schools in Edinburgh run an age-appropriate sexual health programme. It's important that the focus of this is always on relationships. Early intervention is crucial to ensure young people have a healthy attitude towards relationships.
"Primary schools also work with parents to ensure they have an age-appropriate, progressive programme."
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www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk•
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www.isdscotland.org/abortion statisticsThe full article contains 452 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
