Singapore to be better known as abortion/eugenics capital of the world, far from bei

The Straits Times; Published on Dec 25, 2014
Concept of foetal viability too subjective
LIKE Associate Professor Tan Seow Hon ("Parsing the 24-week rule for abortions"; last Thursday) and Mr Darius Lee ("Flawed rationale for 24-week rule on abortions"; Monday), I support a review of the 24-week limit for abortions.
The concept of foetal viability, on which the 24-week rule is based, is subjective and unsustainable. Taken to its logical extreme, not one adult will be viable if the necessities for survival are withheld.
Neonatal medicine has significantly reduced the risks associated with premature births.
According to the Health Ministry, among premature babies born in Singapore before 24 weeks of gestation from 2008 to 2012, 48 per cent survived beyond the first year, compared with 27 per cent from 1998 to 2002.
There are also reports from around the developed world that newborns with gestational ages of less than 22 weeks have survived. James Elgin Gill, the world's earliest premature baby with a gestational age of 21 weeks and five days when he was born in 1987, is still alive.
In biology, a human being's life begins at fertilisation. Conception is the only objective standard for when human life begins.
The human being's growth is a continuum from zygote to embryo to foetus to newborn to adult. These are not discrete entities but labels used to identify different stages of development.
Doctors should recognise that they are supporting two patients - the mother and the baby.
As a society, we need to be compassionate, logical and just. We should not discriminate against unborn babies, but uphold the fundamental human right to life, from conception to natural death, regardless of the capability of medical science to support nascent life.
Edmund Leong Meng Tsi
Copyright © 2015 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
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The Straits Times, Published on Dec 22, 2014
Flawed rationale for 24-week rule on abortions
I AGREE with Associate Professor Tan Seow Hon that the 24-week time limit for abortion should be reviewed ("Parsing the 24-week rule for abortions", last Thursday).
In Singapore, abortion is permissible for any reason up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. Thereafter, a pregnancy may be terminated only if it is "immediately necessary to save the life or to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman".
This makes Singapore one of only seven countries in the world that permit elective abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
According to a 2014 study by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the only other such countries are Canada, China, North Korea, the Netherlands, Vietnam and the United States.
Singapore's 24-week abortion limit was put in place in 1974. Its rationale is based on the stage of gestation at which the foetus is able to survive outside the womb, otherwise known as "foetal viability".
However, the concept of foetal viability is problematic for at least two reasons.
First, it is based on a mistaken understanding of human dignity. All human beings are entitled to be respected and treated equally irrespective not only of race, sex, nationality and social status, but also of age, size, location, stage of development and condition of dependency.
Second, the survival rate of premature infants depends on the availability and state of medical advancement, which vary across time and space.
For example, Japan reduced its abortion time limit in 1991 from 24 to 22 weeks of gestation because of advances in medical technology. At the time, the survival rate of infants at 22 and 23 weeks' gestation was around 18 per cent.
Around 10 years later, the survival rate of infants at the same stages of gestation had increased to 31 per cent and 56 per cent respectively, as a 2009 Japanese study revealed.
It is said that the true measure of any society is found in how it treats its most vulnerable members. To build a truly progressive and compassionate society, we should value and protect human life at all stages of development, including and especially the weakest members of the human family - the unborn children.
Darius Lee
Copyright © 2015 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
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