SINGAPORE: The Government has said no to baby drops for babies
from unwanted pregnancies.
In Parliament on Thursday, the Community Development and Sports
Ministry said legalising such drops would lead to more problems,
and would send the signal that it was all right for parents to
abandon babies.
Instead, distressed parents now have a helpline and shelters to
turn to, and will be counselled on their options.
MPs wanted to know if the recent cases of abandoned babies could
have been prevented, and if there could be better publicity of
where troubled pregnant women could go to.
MP for Tampines GRC Sin Boon Ann said, "I wonder whether the
Minister would agree with me that more can be done in this regard
to publicize the number available. We all remember the telephone
number for pizza delivery but can we recall the numbers of these
helplines?"
To this, Minister of State for Community Development, Sport and
Youth Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon said, "The hotline number for the
24-hour national pregnancy is 1800-mum-to-be so I think its easier
than the pizza delivery number!"
On a more serious note, Mrs Yu-Foo said Singapore already has a
three-pronged approach to prevent any pregnancy from becoming a
crisis.
These help mothers make informed choices, and the key is education
in schools and shelters for distressed mothers.
The shelters provide a safe environment for mothers to carry the
pregnancies to full term and help them if they want to give up
their babies for adoption.
Answering to why the Ministry did not want baby drops, Mrs Yu-Foo
said experience from overseas showed that it could end up with
babies with health problems and even child victims of trafficking
being dropped off.
Added Mrs Yu-Foo, "Baby drops may save babies but it does not care
for the mother's health and welfare. The mother needs proper
reproductive welfare tools. Most mothers who are interviewed have
indicated that if their daughter is pregnant and has a baby, they
want to know so they can support the child."
There are also legal problems if one parent is not aware of the
babies being dropped off.
She agreed with MPs who said more public education, and education
in schools was needed, and that her Ministry would work with other
agencies to raise awareness. - CNA