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