There’s been no shortage of hot debates on issues at The Straits Times discussion forum. There was the en-bloc debate I blogged about recently, and there’s another current one on an age-old debate: abortion in Singapore.
Yep, it’s a tough one alright. During my secondary 3 days at ACS we had one particular English lesson where we gathered at the foyer of the Clock Tower. My then English teacher in 1986 was Cindy Jeyaretnam, wife of that well-known lawyer in Singapore and daughter-in-law of the even more famous Opposition figure. During that lesson we were split into two sides and asked to debate on abortion.
Now keeping in mind that this was an all boys’ school, here’s the surprising thing: many of the boys were all quite pro-life. That thing about fetuses bearing sentience, and once life is conceived, what right does one have to take it away. There were also the issues of the use of limited abortion in rape that was brought up, but that class left me with an impression then that most people did not favor abortion.
Here’s the irony. Just 3 years later at ACJC we had the same debate with my JC class as a General Paper topic, and that was when my presumption about general sentiments of abortion came flying smack back into my face. This time round the class was evenly split on both sides, and as I recalled, the most rigorous pro-abortion person was one girl in my class. And without making general representations of fellow believers, this girl was a fervent Christian (and nugget here; someone I was crazy about too as a young adult but no the relationship didn’t get anywhere; same girl mentioned here). Say what you will about Christian beliefs about the sanctity of life, but in this girl’s mind, the issues of unwanted pregnancies including from rape superseded everything else: the woman must always reserve every right to abort.
Personally, I’ve fluctuated between both sides of it. I believe it’s wrong to kill the innocent, period. But there’s been questions raised about when exactly does life become sufficiently sentient to warrant consideration of the emotions of the human baby in question, whatever early-developed stage the baby may be. In fiction, one of the most interesting takes of abortion if in an imagined sci-fiction reality was the subplot in an episode of Battlestar Galactica, where decisions had to be made whether abortion should be made illegal when your species is on the verge of extinction.
And back in Singapore, you have a sobering letter written to the forum page like this one (selected paragraphs included only, with full letter here):
Aug 1, 2008
Young doctor’s account of abortion in the heartland
I write from the perspective of a doctor who started the first half of her medical career in a polyclinic in the HDB heartland. As a young doctor, I was surprised to find at least three or more young women walking through my door every week seeking a subsidised referral to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy. …
What was even more surprising was the cavalier attitude exhibited by many of these young women. Most already knew what they wanted. For ‘first-timers’, friends have perhaps told them the cheapest and easiest way to ‘get rid of it’. Hence many displayed barely concealed impatience and irritation at the doctor’s attempt to counsel them.
Those who had already gone through several abortions did not see why they even had to listen; after all, the polyclinic doctor was just the ‘letter-writer’. Many did not see the reason for contraceptives. Those in their teens had no doubt gone through some rudimentary form of sex education in school. Yet, many told me they never thought they would become part of the unwed mother statistic.
And then we have married women seeking an abortion. Many of these women have the resources and maturity to bring up a child. During the economic slowdown post-Sars, financial constraint was given as the main reason for aborting an unwanted pregnancy. Yet many others gave flippant reasons such as an older child having PSLE, an impending overseas trip or a new job to justify terminating a pregnancy that could have been easily prevented. …
Dr Hoe Wan Sin
Dr. Hoe’s observations of young adult attitudes towards abortion seem to be in sync with some of the attitudes shown in Singaporean discussion forums, where techniques on teenage and premarital sex are routinely discussed, debated upon, and every other topic or thread on relationships easily turning into a sexual one.
And that’s what exactly scares me; that if discussions can be so promiscuous, when the accidental teenage pregnancy happens, will the abortion be dismissed as nothing more than a trivial inconvenience and the choice to end a life be taken so easily?
Recent comments