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MOH not considering lowering abortion limit

SINGAPORE – The Ministry of Health (MOH) is not considering lowering the abortion limit from the current 24 weeks, said Senior Minister of State (Health and Manpower) Amy Khor.

SINGAPORE – The Ministry of Health (MOH) is not considering lowering the abortion limit from the current 24 weeks, said Senior Minister of State (Health and Manpower) Amy Khor.

She was responding to a parliamentary question by Member of Parliament Alex Yam (Chua Chu Kang GRC) today (Oct 8) on the survival rate of premature babies born before 24 weeks. Among such premature babies born during 2008 to 2012, 48 per cent survived beyond their first year compared to 27 per cent between 1998 and 2002.

In light of these figures, Mr Yam questioned if the MOH would consider lowering the abortion limit to 20 to 23 weeks.

However, Dr Khor said the number of premature babies is still too small to safely conclude that survival rates have indeed improved, adding that 24 weeks is generally regarded as the point of fetal viability, as practised by other countries, such as the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia.

“Locally, I would also like to note that actually only 2 per cent of all abortions performed in 2013 were performed between the 21st to 24th week of gestational age. So, lowering the abortion limit will have little effect on lowering the overall abortion rates here,” she said.

Dr Khor added that routine fetal scans are performed at 20 weeks, where the fetus is sufficiently developed to pick up structural abnormalities. More than half of the abortions carried out in 2013 during the 21st to 24th week were due to fetal abnormalities or other medical reasons.

“So, keeping the abortion limit at 24 weeks will allow these mothers some time to consider the implications and make an informed decision as to whether to keep or abort the child, without feeling rushed to meet a shorter cut-off time,” she said.

Mr Yam also asked if pre-abortion counselling will be extended to all women seeking abortion in Singapore. Dr Khor said a public consultation will be held at the end of this year to review the information provided during pre-abortion counselling, as well as the training of counsellors.

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