Furious parents have jammed phone lines with complaints after their children saw the first television advert for the morning-after pill. The commercial was screened shortly after the 9pm watershed on ITV, Channel 4 and Sky - but many youngsters were still up.
Radio phone-in shows had hundreds of calls slamming the ad for Levonelle One Step. An angry mum stormed: "This trivialises a very important issue. Something as important as pregnancy should not be devalued for profit."
A father-of-two added: "Even though it was shown after 9pm my teenage daughters were watching. The worst thing is it makes it seem normal to go and get this pill. We've crossed a moral line with this."
Millions of viewers saw the cartoon-style ad showing a woman waking up in bed next to her partner - and then heading to a chemist to ask for Levonelle One Step.
The ground-breaking commercial was backed by sexual health charity Marie Stopes International. Spokeswoman Emily James said: "We are delighted emergency contraception, a vital component in the prevention of unintended pregnancies, will be advertised on TV. Catapulting information on how to access and use emergency contraception into living rooms is an ideal way to ensure women will use it quickly and effectively."
But Dominica Roberts of anti-abortion group ProLife Alliance warned: "It is advertised inaccurately as emergency contraception when its major function is to cause the abortion of an embryo already conceived. Young girls will be particularly susceptible to this advertising campaign, and it is foolish to imagine they do not watch TV after the 9pm watershed."
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