Drug overdoses, prostitution, incest - there are few subjects too sensational to be tackled by TV soap writers. Now Coronation Street is set to break yet another taboo, with a storyline about a 13-year-old who becomes pregnant.

The leaking of the plot, which will centre on Gail Platt's teenage daughter Sarah Louise and her decision to have the baby, has already divided public opinion.

Family campaigners claim the theme will send out the message that it is glamorous to experiment with sex and become pregnant at a young age. And they believe it will also strengthen existing attitudes that underage sex is acceptable.

But family planning agencies claim the reverse is true and that the storyline, which will begin over the coming weeks, will help educate youngsters about the true facts of teenage parenthood and re-emphasise the importance of contraception. At present, Britain has Europe's highest teenage pregnancy and abortion rate, with 3,700 girls under 16 having babies every year.

Last year the Government announced a £10m drive to reduce the number of teenage mothers and to persuade those who become pregnant to stay on at school.

It is not simply the girls who need educating. A 13-year-old boy recently became one of the youngest fathers in Britain after his 17-year-old girlfriend gave birth to twins, and a 14-year-old schoolboy admitted making his 12-year-old girlfriend pregnant.

A 12-year-old girl from Devon who gave birth has received money and help from a fund for pregnant youngsters set up by Cardinal Thomas Winning, leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland It is certainly not the first time soap operas have tackled teenage pregnancy. In 1986, EastEnders featured 16-year-old schoolgirl Michelle Fowler becoming pregnant after having an affair with Den Watts.

And last year, Emmerdale highlighted the problem when it showed teenage mother Emma Cairns taking the decision to give up her daughter for adoption.

Juliet Hillier from the Brook Advisory Clinic, which offers young people advice on contraception and pregnancy, believes soaps are right to tackle the issue.

She says: "It is vital that young people are shown teenage pregnancy in a context they can understand and relate to. "It is one thing for a teacher to stand up and tell teenagers what they should and shouldn't be doing, but quite another for a girl of their own age to show them the day-to-day consequences of underage and unprotected sex. Teenage girls and boys are experimenting with sex at a much younger age than their parents did, and a consequence of this is pregnancy.

"Soap operas cannot be accused of glamorising underage sex if they show its negative consequences and provoke discussion of the subject.

"Many teenagers do not fully understand the level of responsibility and emotional commitment of motherhood, and until it is shown in a stark light they will fail to do so.

"There is no better method for delivering the message that young motherhood is undesirable than via the television screen three times a week." But groups such as the Brook Advisory Clinic are disappointed that Coronation Street has chosen such a young girl for the storyline.

"Despite what many think, it is still extremely rare for a 13-year-old girl to become pregnant. It would be far more realistic for a soap to show a 16 or 17-year-old facing this dilemma," says Hillier.

"However, most groups would encourage any plot that raises the issue of teenage sex and pregnancy for discussion.

"It may be highly undesirable for young people to become parents, but that does not mean we should be sticking our heads in the sand and ignoring the problem."

But not everybody would agree that soap operas are the best way to get the message across to young people. Many believe such sensational subjects are best tackled using other methods.

Psychologist Helen Taylor believes the constant need to attract higher viewing figures prevents television dramas from giving such serious issues the attention they deserve.

"The pregnancy of a 13-year-old girl is something that will affect her, her family and her child for the rest of her life," she says.

Story date: Friday 11 February

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