Teen pregnancy can have serious consequences on both the physical and mental health of teenagers. A 2009 study found that teenage girls who are pregnant or are mothers are seven times more likely to commit suicide than other teenagers.

The organisation helps teens through:

• 24-hour helpline

• Casework and counselling

• Practical support (befriender, baby essentials, employment & back to school assistance etc), information & resources

• Outreach and youth engagement events

The organisation acts as a medium of communication as an approachable, friendly and non-threatening way for these teens in crisis to contact us.

Girls below 16 years of age need to be counselled at the Health Promotion Board Counselling Centre (except for rape victims).

There is also a mandatory waiting period of 48 hours after the counselling is conducted before the procedure can be done.

However, an abortion can cost from $800 to $5,000, depending on whether the procedure is conducted in a restructured hospital. This leads to some teens resorting to unsafe drugs and methods to terminate the baby without bearing the financial cost or social stigmas.

• haemorrhage (excessive bleeding) – occurs in about one in every 1,000 abortions

• damage to the cervix (the entrance of the womb) – occurs in no more than 10 in every 1,000 abortions

• damage to the womb – occurs in up to four in every 1,000 abortions during surgical abortion, and less than one in 1,000 medical abortions carried out at 12-24 weeks

First, you must be 16 years old to legally have sex in Singapore. Intercourse below the age of 16 is a punishable offence under section 376A of the Penal Code.  

If only the impregnated teen is underage, and is:

• Below age 14: The teen’s partner may be found guilty of rape regardless of whether the impregnated teen had consented to having sex. If so, he will face imprisonment of up to 20 years and will also be liable to a fine or caning.

• Between age 14-16: The teen’s partner may face imprisonment of up to 10 years, a fine or both. However, punishment is more severe in exploitative relationships, i.e, the accused is in a position of authority over the victim. For example, the relationship between a student and teacher. In such cases, the accused may face up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine or caning.

Besides imprisonment, the court may choose to sentence the accused to alternative sentencing options, at its own discretion. For example, in January 2021, a 17-year-old boy who got his 15-year-old girlfriend pregnant was required to serve probation and community service, rather than jail time.

If both teens are underage, the police have the discretion to decide whether to file charges.

In another case, a 14-year-old teen who impregnated his 15-year-old girlfriend pleaded guilty to charges of sexual penetration of a minor and abetting the concealment of birth by instigating the girl to bury their stillborn child. In February 2024, the teen boy was sentenced to probation and community service at the age of 18 years old. The girl was reportedly given a conditional warning for concealing the birth of a child.

Q2: Can the Claim of Being Mistaken About a Teenager’s Age be Used as a Defence? 

Being reasonably mistaken as to the age of the other party is generally not a defence to sexual offence charges. Meaning, stating that you would not have had intercourse with someone had you known that they were underage is unlikely to be a defence accepted by the court.

Q3: Must Counsellors/Therapists Maintain Confidentiality Regarding a Teen’s Pregnancy?

Counsellors/therapists must maintain confidentiality with their teen clients. However, exceptions apply.

For example, counsellors/therapists are required to disclose information about you if your parents have communicated that they want to be informed about your circumstances. This also depends on the guidelines of the agency you are seeking counselling/therapy from.

Factors such as redirecting a teen to a pregnancy agency or documenting consultations will not be seen as breaching confidentiality.

Q4: What are the Laws Regarding Abortion?

A teenager has the right to get an abortion in Singapore. Parental consent is not compulsory.

For those between 14-16, you must receive counselling from the Health Promotion Board Counselling Centre and obtain a Certificate of Attendance. If you are below 14, your parents will likely be informed as intercourse under the age of 14 is considered statutory rape.

To get an abortion as a teenager in Singapore, you must be:

• A citizen of Singapore;

• Residing in Singapore for at least 4 months before the abortion is carried out; or

• Dealing with special circumstances where it is essential to carry out the abortion to save your life.

Should you get an abortion despite not meeting any of the above requirements, you may face jail time up to 3 years and/or be fined up to $3,000.

An abortion cannot be carried out if the pregnancy exceeds 24 weeks. However, exceptions apply in cases where the teen’s life is at risk.

Additionally, you must undergo mandatory counselling before the abortion and then wait 48 hours to make your final decision.

Q5. Can Teenage Mothers Keep Their Babies?

There are no laws preventing teen mothers from keeping their baby. However, there are no public housing schemes available to mothers who are below 21 years old.

Further, children born to unmarried mothers are considered illegitimate. This means if a mother passes away without a will, her child will not be legally entitled to her assets. To change this legal status, the mother can adopt her child so that her child can stand to inherit her assets if she passes away without a will. Alternatively, the mother may consider writing a will to leave assets to her child.

There are also no laws stopping teen parents from raising and making legal decisions for their child. However, underage parents can apply to the court for a court-appointed guardian to ensure their child’s welfare.

There are 48 FSCs located in HDB towns around Singapore. FSCs are supported by:

• Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF),

• National Council of Social Service (NCSS), and

• Singapore Totalisator Board.

• They strengthen marriages and families (including the low-income and vulnerable), develop resilience in disadvantaged children, mould troubled youths into contributing individuals, empower active seniors to help lonely seniors, assist ex-offenders in reintegrating into society, and help women with unsupported pregnancies.

• They are an Institution of a Public Character (IPC) and a member of the National Council of Social Service (NCSS).

• According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), every day, 20000 girls aged below 18 give birth in developing countries.

• 95% of teenage pregnancy births occurs in developing countries.

• According to a paper published by Lancet Global Health in 2014, funded by UNFPA, in order of annual number of adolescent maternal deaths, these countries were: Nigeria, India, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Pakistan, Kenya, Sudan, Indonesia, Uganda, Mozambique, Mali, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Guinea, and Bangladesh.

In developed countries, according to Equality Trust, a UK organisation aiming to dismantle socioeconomic inequalities, there seems to be a trend of an increasing teenage pregnancy rate as the country is more unequally rich. In other words, there seems to be a higher rate of teenage pregnancy when there is a wider socioeconomic gap. (This data may be dated, as it was collected in 2009)

• In 2002, 32 in 1000 girls below 19 years old had been pregnant at least once. In 2014, this increased to 53 in 1000.

• In Southeast Asia, the teenage pregnancy rate remains at 43 births per 1,000 girls aged 15–19 years (compared to 26 in South Asia and 7 in East Asia) and many countries have seen little reduction (or increases) in these rates.

• In South Korea and Singapore, although the occurrence of sexual intercourse before marriage has risen, rates of adolescent childbearing are low at 4 to 8 per 1,000.

Q2: How do you think others around you would react?

Q3: Do you think teen moms/fathers should be given a second chance?