9th Apr 2013
8 April 2013
Question No. 477
Name of Person: Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song
Question
To ask the Minister for Health in each year from 2002 to 2012, how many abortions were carried out (i) on or before the 12th week of pregnancy; (ii) from the 12th to the 20th week of pregnancy; (iii) from the 21st to the 24th week of pregnancy; (iv) after the 24th week of pregnancy; and (v) on Singaporeans, PRs and foreigners.
Answer
The statistics of abortions carried out in the 1st trimester (up to 12 weeks), 2nd trimester (>12-24weeks) and after 24 weeks of pregnancy are provided in Table 1. Table 2 provides the breakdown of abortions by Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents and foreigners.
Table 1: Breakdown of abortions based on pregnancy trimester
Gestation Week | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
≤ 12th week (1st Trimester) | 11266 | 11097 | 10480 | 10835 | 10820 | 11171 | 11249 | 10895 | 10771 | 9631 |
>12th to 24th week (2nd Trimester) | 992 | 965 | 1001 | 1186 | 1110 | 1048 | 1067 | 1186 | 1167 | 990 |
>24th week | 14 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Total number of abortions carried out | 12272 | 12070 | 11482 | 12032 | 11933 | 12222 | 12318 | 12082 | 11940 | 10624 |
Source: Termination of Pregnancy System (with effect from 2003)1
Table 2: Breakdown of abortions by Singaporean Citizens, Permanent Residents and Foreigners
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
Singaporeans | 9763 | 9236 | 8679 | 8813 | 8484 | 8183 | 7887 | 7620 | 7282 | 6431 |
PR | 858 | 1060 | 734 | 1338 | 1359 | 1511 | 1639 | 1695 | 1634 | 1382 |
Foreigners | 1651 | 1774 | 2069 | 1881 | 2090 | 2528 | 2792 | 2767 | 3024 | 2811 |
Total Abortions | 12272 | 12070 | 11482 | 12032 | 11933 | 12222 | 12318 | 12082 | 11940 | 10624 |
Source: Termination of Pregnancy System (with effect from 2003)
1 The online Termination of Pregnancy System was only implemented in 2003. Prior to 2003, the report on request for treatment to terminate pregnancy was submitted to MOH in hard copies and records were captured manually. Hence, we do not have the raw patient data to support the statistics before 2003.