Ministers want to double the number of girls using contraceptive jabs and implants to cut down on teenage abortions.

Under reforms, youngsters considered at risk of unplanned pregnancies will be advised by their GPs to use these methods of contraception, which could render them infertile for three years.

In addition, abortion clinics will be required to offer immediate contraceptive advice to women after their pregnancies have been terminated.

Those who decline to take the advice will be recalled and asked to consider having implants or injections.

Dawn Primarolo, the public health minister, said she was concerned that almost a third of terminations were repeat abortions and that there was a “spike” in unplanned pregnancies among girls aged 16-18.

Ministers want to double the number using the so-called Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives (Larcs) after being told by regulators that they could save around £100m a year if 15% of women used the methods.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence estimated the move would cut unplanned pregnancies by 73,000 a year. In total, 20,289 abortions were carried out last year on girls under 18.

Currently, only around 7% of women have contraceptive jabs or implants, which are more widely used in America.

The policy of offering them to teenagers is likely to prove controversial. In the past, some doctors have been criticised for offering them to poorer women and those from ethnic minorities without explaining possible side-effects, which include headaches and weight gain.

In Britain girls as young as 13 have received the treatments, despite warnings that they should be used cautiously in young teenagers.

Primarolo is to begin talking to health trusts this week to ensure that when they negotiate contracts with abortion providers, the new rules on contraception are introduced.

“We are encouraging GPs to put them on long-acting contraceptives – the pill is not the only form of contraceptive that suits women,” said Primarolo.

The Department of Health is also to provide funding for teenagers to be sent mobile phone text messages containing contraceptive advice and to take part in confidential video conferences with sexual health advisers in an attempt to cut abortions.

A health department spokesman said: “We know that almost a third of abortions in England and Wales are repeat abortions.

“This makes it even more important that these women are given timely advice on the full range of contraceptive choices available. Currently, such advice can be limited only to a supply of condoms or the pill.

“Larcs have virtually no failure and are therefore particularly suitable for women with a high risk of unintended pregnancy.”

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