In revised guidelines, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that teenagers receive counselling to postpone sexual activity and also information about and access to contraception, including over the counter emergency contraception without a prescription (Pediatrics 2005;115: 281-6). The academy's 60 000 members provide primary care to infants, children, and teenagers up to the age of 18 or 21.

Jonathan Klein, chairman of the committee that drew up the guidelines, told the BMJ that the new report was a routine update to consider newer options such as emergency contraception, not a …