Registering names for stillborn children and changing the definition of stillbirth: What you need to know
To date, ICA has issued 51 commemorative birth certificates.
A file photo of a baby. (Photo: iStock)
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SINGAPORE: A new legislation that will allow parents to register names for stillborn children and change the timeline definition of a stillborn child was passed in parliament on Tuesday (Jan 9).
The decision to allow parents to officially name their stillborn children comes after feedback from bereaved parents, said Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling in parliament during the debate.
“We have heard their deeply felt sentiments that a stillbirth is similar to the loss of any child. For some parents, being able to officially name the child is an important step in the healing process,” continued Ms Sun, who is also Minister of State for Home Affairs.
Ms Sun also thanked Ms Mandy Too, who had advocated for her stillborn twins’ names to be entered in the stillbirth register, as highlighted in a CNA report in October.
Desperate for some official recognition of the names of her stillborn twins – Abigail and Lara – Ms Too started an online petition in April which garnered about 2,800 signatures. The couple eventually received an email from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) informing them that they could apply for a commemorative birth certificate for the twins.
“We hope the amendments to the RBDA (Registration of Births and Deaths Act) to allow for the official registration of a name for a stillborn child will go some way to recognise the birth of the child and support the healing process for bereaved parents,” said Ms Sun on Tuesday.
Here’s what you need to know about the new laws.
NAMES AND CERTIFICATES FOR STILLBORN CHILDREN
Currently, parents of stillborn babies get digital stillbirth certificates, but the children’s names are not listed.
With the new amendments to legislation, parents will be able to apply to register a name for the child within one year after the stillbirth, said Ms Sun.
The digital stillbirth certificate, which can be downloaded from the My Legacy website, will then reflect the child’s registered name, she added.
WHEN WILL THE CHANGES TAKE EFFECT?
The official naming of stillborn children will require enhancements to ICA’s systems, Ms Sun stressed.
“As ICA also has other pressing system enhancements, the enhancement relating to stillbirth naming will take some time. We estimate it to be about two years,” she added.
The time limit of registering the child’s name within one year of the stillbirth also applies to parents who have stillborn children before this is in operation, said Ms Sun in her closing speech in parliament.
In the meantime, parents who want to name their stillborn children can apply for a commemorative birth certificate that reflects their name for remembrance purposes on ICA’s website, she said.
ICA started issuing commemorative birth certificates to parents of stillborn children on Oct 1. Although the certificates are issued by ICA and bear the names of the stillborn children, it is not an official, legal document.
To date, ICA has issued 51 commemorative birth certificates, said Ms Sun in her closing speech.
Parents of stillborn babies will be able to register their child’s name within a year of the delivery, under a Bill put up for debate in Parliament on Tuesday (Jan 9). Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling told the House that her ministry had heard “deeply felt sentiments” that a stillbirth was similar to the loss of any child and for some parents, being able to officially name the child was an important step in the healing process. The move will require enhancements to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority’s systems, which will take an estimated two years. In the meantime, parents can apply for a commemorative birth certificate that reflects the stillborn child’s name. The Bill also redefines a stillborn child as one who is delivered after 24 weeks of pregnancy, up from 22 weeks. Ms Sun said the Ministry of Home Affairs had reviewed the matter with the Ministry of Health and decided to align this with the legal cut-off for abortions and remove any potential confusion regarding foetal viability. Necessary changes will also be made to the definition of “stillborn child” in the Income Tax Act 1947 for the purposes of administering tax benefits.
CHANGE IN DEFINITION OF STILLBIRTH
Under the new laws, a stillborn child is now defined as one after 24 weeks of pregnancy, up from the previous threshold of 22 weeks.
When the Registration of Births and Deaths Act was first enacted in 1937, the threshold of stillbirth was set at 28 weeks of pregnancy. In 2021, the act was amended and the threshold was adjusted to 22 weeks to align with the World Health Organization’s statistical reporting guidelines.
WHY ARE DOCTORS CONCERNED?
After the 2021 amendment, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) received feedback from doctors that the 22-week threshold may be misinterpreted as an indication of fetal viability, or the ability of a human fetus to survive outside the womb, said Ms Sun.
“Medical practitioners are concerned about this, because local medical and scientific evidence points to 24 weeks of pregnancy as the threshold for fetal viability, and not 22 weeks,” she added.
Reviews by the Ministry of Health in 2018 and 2022 concluded that the survival rate for premature babies born at 22 weeks is close to zero, while fetal viability at 24 weeks is about 50 per cent, she noted.
Amending the definition of a stillborn child to after 24 weeks of pregnancy will align with what is set out in the Termination of Pregnancy Act, which states that an abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy is only allowed in the case of medical exigencies.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MOTHERS NEED TO DELIVER PREMATURELY?
When parents are faced with the prospect of delivering a premature child, they are counselled by their doctors with information about the infant’s chances of survival and the risk of severe complications, said Ms Sun in her closing speech.
This also takes into account the specifics of the case, including any medical conditions the mother may have, she added.
“Such counselling will help parents to come to an informed decision about the appropriate course of medical intervention.”
If parents mistake the 22-week threshold as an indication of fetal viability, they could be confused about the medical interventions for their unborn child, said Ms Sun.
In a press release on the amendments in 2023, MHA said that the medical community is also concerned that such ambiguities may lead to pressure on doctors to use more liberal treatment for infants born between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy, or resuscitation.
This could, in turn, result in potentially severe neurodevelopmental disabilities in infants who survive, and higher rates of futile attempts at resuscitation, MHA said.
