ABORTIONS

Tuesday, 8th April, 1969

Mr L. P. Rodrigo asked the Minister for Health (a) how many abortions have been carried out by the Hospital Authorities from 1st January, 1967, up to the latest convenient date; and (b) how many cases of abortions have been treated or recorded by or reported to the Hospital Authorities, and how many of such cases have been fatal, during the same period.

Mr Chua Sian Chin: (a) Abortions carried out by Kandang Kerbau Hospital 1967 = 820 (with no deaths).

Abortions carried out by Kandang Kerbau Hospital 1968 = 1,376 (with no deaths).

(b) Cases of abortions treated, recorded or reported by Hospital Authorities for 1967 = 3,327 (with 5 deaths). 1968 = 2,922 (with 2 deaths).

In amplification of the figures in these answers 1 should add that the figures in my answer to question (a) for abortions carried out in the Hospital were those done for medical reasons, i.e. "therapeutic abortions" for such conditions as incomplete abortions (to complete the evacuation of the womb of the contents of conception when abortion has occurred spontaneously - "naturally" -or by "artificial induction"; or from inevitable abortion, or in some other conditions where the continued pregnancy may endanger the life of the pregnant woman such as heart diseases in heart failure, tuberculosis, advanced kidney diseases with kidney impairment and cancer of the breast.

The figures in my answer (b) for cases of abortions treated, recorded or reported by the Hospital would include the figures for abortions carried out by the Hospital given in answer (a) .

The difference in the numbers would, therefore, more correctly be figures for cases of abortions treated in the hospital. These cases would include persons treated for threatened abortions, i.e. where there is a possibility of the pregnancy terminating for one reason or the other, but usually from natural causes; where it is necessary to try and save the pregnancy. In others, these were for treatment of cases which had been interfered with, and were suffering from infection of injury to the womb. These latter cases cannot always be determined accurately as the woman seldom will admit interference with the pregnancies and many of the numbers included in the group are based on presumptive evidence that they are criminally induced abortions.

An MD thesis on Non-clinical aspects of induced abortions in Singapore was written by Dr Lee Yong Kiat. His figures for induced abortions were 1,676 for a six-month period in 1964, i.e. 3,352 projected for the year. He also estimated that the total number of abortions occurring in Singapore would probably be about 6,000 a year. My predecessor, replying to a question in Parliament on abortions, quoted the same source for his figures on estimated abortions. (Hansard - Thursday, 7th September 1967, Vol. 26, Columns 95 and 96).

From my answers, it can be inferred that abortions carried out (for medical reasons) in the Hospital are safe since no deaths occurred in the entire series in the last two years. In comparison, the deaths recorded from abortions treated in the Hospital were deaths from those who had in all probability been criminally aborted outside and were brought into the Hospital for treatment. The comparative safety of abortions done under the Hospital conditions is further confirmed by comparison with deaths resulting from childbirth. Whereas there were no deaths resulting from therapeutic abortions, there were a few deaths resulting from childbirth in the Hospital (0.5 and 0.3 per thousand of births) as appears in my answer to another question filed by the hon. Member.