Minimum age may force girls to abort foetus overseas or without clinical help

I refer to Voices writer Zhang Jieqiang’s letter, “Set minimum age for women seeking abortion” (Aug 15).

It noted the existence of a minimum age for sex (16 years old), consuming alcohol (18), buying cigarettes (19), and voting or consenting to marry someone (21).

Based on these facts, the writer argued: “Does it not logically follow that there should be a minimum legal age for abortion?”

There is an important difference between abortion and those activities. Abortion is a last-resort response to an accident, whereas the other activities are not.

An unborn child could have been the result of rape. There are also medical emergencies in which continued pregnancy will kill the mother.

In 2009, doctors performed an abortion to save a nine-year-old Brazilian girl, who was pregnant with twins after being raped by her stepfather. When Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho condemned the abortion, his statements drew worldwide criticism, including from the Catholic community.

If a pregnant minor were your loved one, you would wish to give her maximum emotional care as she goes through this dark period. The last thing she needs is the big baton of law enforcement to be brandished at her and her doctors.

A legal age for sex, marriage and alcohol or cigarette consumption causes individuals to delay making these consequential lifestyle choices.

A pregnant girl, however, does not have the luxury of time to delay her decision. Neither is abortion a lifestyle choice.

A minimum age for abortion may force a pregnant girl to get an abortion overseas or a non-clinical abortion without professional help. In the United States, such methods have included ingesting mail-order abortion pills or poison.

Most infamously, some women have resorted to “do-it-yourself abortions” using coat hangers. This was especially prevalent before the US Supreme Court ruled in 1973 that a pregnant woman’s choice of abortion was constitutionally protected.

All said, I agree with the letter-writer that minors should be protected, though not by denying them a legal and safe abortion.

Protect them instead from being coerced into abortion. The Termination of Pregnancy Act states that coercing a “pregnant woman” into an abortion is punishable by a fine of up to S$3,000 or up to three years’ jail, or both.

Perhaps these punishments can be reviewed and made harsher. The law can also be updated to include “girls”, in addition to women.

Ultimately, having a minimum age for voting does not mean that there should be a minimum age for abortion. A voting age of 21 results in a pool of voters who hold greater responsibilities.

A minimum age for abortion may end up harming young girls, who are least able to bear the consequences of an unintended pregnancy.

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