How Single Mothers Could Help Singapore

The Diplomat (Japan)

11 March 2017

Priscilla Cabuyao

To ease population woes in Singapore, childbearing options such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF) should be extended to single women. Some successful and financially able women who have the means and resources to raise a child may have not yet found the right person to marry, as demonstrated by the relatively high singlehood numbers in Singapore.

A report on population trends by the Singapore Department of Statistics explains that “singlehood was generally more prevalent among… resident females with higher educational qualifications.” Data show that in 2015, 26.1 percent and 24.1 percent of university-educated men and women, respectively, in the 30–39 age group were unmarried.

An IVF procedure in Singapore is currently permitted only for married couples. Making IVF available to single women not only provides them the right to take control of their familial aspirations despite the absence of a spouse but could also contribute to Singapore’s fertility rate, which remains low at 1.2 percent.

… Priscilla Cabuyao is Senior Analyst at the Centre of Excellence for National Security, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.

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