The mother of tragic teenager Caroline Bacon will be among a three-woman deputation lobbying the Home Office on Tuesday.

The trio, who call themselves the Parents Network, have been granted an interview with Home Office minister Paul Boateng to discuss parental rights, the law regarding the Age of Consent and sexually transmitted diseases, which they say is prevalent among young people.

Jenny Bacon, of Allerton, Bradford, lost her daughter, Caroline, in May 1994 when she died after suffering a stroke just before her 16th birthday. She had been issued with the contraceptive pill 18 months previously. Mrs Bacon believes there may be a link between her death and the fact she was on the pill.

On Tuesday, Mrs Bacon will be accompanied by Irene Ivison, of Sheffield, who also lost a teenage daughter after she became involved with drugs and prostitution.

Mrs Bacon said: "Basically, we want parents to be given the right to protect their children. The Government needs to understand that the pill is a powerful steroid and can strongly damage the health of children.

"At the moment, parents don't have any rights - if children want to get hold of contraception they can. We demand to have the right to know what under-age children are up to and this is something I will put forward to Paul Boateng.

"Children have no idea how dangerous contraception can be and this is something they need to be protected from. We have a right to know what's going on."

The women say that with the Department of Health Act 1974, rights to care and protect children regarding contraceptive matters were removed from parents. They are now lobbying for a review in the law and guidelines issued to doctors and health groups which may be in a position to issue contraception and advice about it.

Government statistics show that, on average, five women die every year from complications associated with the pill. But campaigners claim that, because doctors and coroners are reluctant to ascribe the root source as the pill, the true number of pill deaths is around 30.

The women have the backing of Bradford West Labour MP Marsha Singh, who last year lobbied the Government for a review in the law.

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