Snark Alert

May 10 (Telegraph) -- Raquel Welch, the actress, has blamed the Pill for the decline of the institution of marriage. Miss Welch said the widespread use of oral contraceptives had led to a breakdown in norms of sexual morality and fuelled the growth of rampant promiscuity among the young. She said that the situation has grown so grave that "these days nobody seems able to keep it in their pants or honour a commitment". While it carried some benefits, the enduring legacy of the Pill, she argued, has been social anarchy.

Miss Welch found fame in the 1966 movie One Million Years BC and was voted by readers of Playboy magazine as the "most desired female of the 1970s".

She said that in spite of her own three failed marriages she still believed that marriage is the "cornerstone of civilisation, an essential institution that stabilises society, provides a sanctuary for children and saves us from anarchy".