Debate on e-petition 225767 relating to lowering the age for smear tests for cervical cancer from 25 to 18

On 28 January 2019 there will be a debate prompted by e-petition 225767.

E-petition 225767 reads as follows:

Hi I'm Natasha, I am making this petition because I want to make a difference to all woman living in the UK.

I am 30 years old and I have metastatic cervical cancer. I believe that the age of screening should be lowered to age 18 to enable all woman to detect cell changes and prevent cancer.

I believe that lowering the age and giving woman the knowledge about cervical cancer will enable all woman the right to live. There is little to no awareness about cervical cancer.

By reducing the age of smear tests and cervical screening today we can save lives, we can tackle cell changes early and prevent cervical cancer.

If I can do anything with my life I want to make this change happen, it's too late for me but it's not too late for the next generation of young ladies.

On 13 September 2018 the government issued a response to the e-petition and this can also be found on the e-petition website.

This debate pack provides some background to the issue as well as relevant news articles, parliamentary material and further reading.