According to local media, the legislation was greeted with enthusiasm by eligible women, who feel that they have been gifted a reprieve from an ever-ticking biological clock. Those who previously wanted to freeze their eggs for non-medical reasons could do so overseas, with Malaysia and South Korea being popular destinations. But the option to do so in Singapore means the procedure will become more feasible due to greater convenience, affordability and lower safety concerns because of the high standards of domestic health services.
The announcement of the lifted ban was released in a policy white paper on women’s development. It is perceived as a concession of the government’s longstanding concerns about social egg freezing, in view of Singapore’s stubbornly low fertility rate.
Despite the array of pro-natalist incentives on offer — financial transfers, paid leave and childcare subsidies — the fertility rate stands at around 1.1, below the replacement rate of 2.1 and the Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s target of 1.3–1.4. One distinguishing feature of the city-state’s fertility transition is that even as women in their 20s eschew childbearing, the uptick in births among women in their 30s has been weak, resulting in a dearth of ‘catch-up’ babies.
Elective egg freezing performed at younger ages has a higher chance of inducing a successful live birth through IVF. It also seems like a promising instrument for boosting birth rates among older women. Live births resulting from assisted reproductive technologies (ART) currently comprise only 2–5 per cent of all births in developed countries, but this figure is projected to double. As Singapore rapidly ages, the contributions of women aged 35–44 will become increasingly important to the national birth rate, making the success rates of ART procedures a vital biodemographic determinant.
Singaporean women and demographic observers may have cause for celebration. Yet medical technology does not present the ideal solution to what is, at heart, a social problem. The drawbacks of the technologies are too often discounted or ignored. Studies show that individuals overestimate the success rates of IVF and have a low awareness of the serious health risks it poses to both the mother and child. Lifting the ban on elective egg freezing may widen these informational gaps due to the misperception that ART treatments have received official endorsement.
Due to marriage and motherhood penalties, women everywhere face a trade-off between investing in their education and career or pursuing marriage and parenthood. In Singapore, this trade-off is especially salient due to the cultural emphasis on hard work and individual success. This has propelled Singapore to the top of international education and human capital rankings. Societal incentives have created a very clear universal message for both men and women — invest in yourselves.
By contrast, the value of marriage and childbearing is regarded as highly subjective — at times derided as outdated, unnecessary, or even oppressive and detrimental to personal freedom and growth. Parenthood is widely regarded as expensive, tiring and stressful due to the high academic standards children are expected to meet. The burden of children’s education and household care are disproportionately placed on women. This makes the transition to motherhood an especially daunting prospect without adequate conditions and resources.
The legislation of elective egg freezing for younger women reinforces the message that women should focus on their education and careers first and children later. Having children at younger, more medically optimal ages has now lost some of its urgency. The choice to have children earlier is more difficult to justify to mentors in graduate programs or supervisors at work.
Moreover, the reduced visibility of the risks of late childbearing may disproportionately affect women from lower-income backgrounds for whom egg freezing may not be economically viable, potentially leading to a divergence in fertility options and outcomes.
Even as the new law may help to expand women’s reproductive health choices and boost birth rates, informational gaps must be identified and addressed to improve medical outcomes and to allow women to make fully informed decisions. There also remains a public health imperative to make childbearing a more viable aspiration for fertile couples in their late 20s.
Policies should acknowledge that younger couples often need more government subsidies and financial assistance to start a family. Mentorship programs and career networking opportunities are needed to offset the scrutiny and stigma that younger mothers face and push back against the norms and expectations that come with ever-later motherhood.
Poh Lin Tan is Assistant Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.
How the Singapore Government can help women finance egg freezing?
The high costs of egg freezing may make it unaffordable to many prospective egg freezing patients, particularly younger women with less savings, but at the peak of their fertility. Hence, the Singapore government should consider various financial assistance schemes to help such younger women with optimal egg quality for freezing. In this case, direct government subsidies cannot be justified because elective egg freezing for non-medical reasons is non-essential for sustenance of either health or life. Nevertheless, there are various other options that can be considered. Perhaps, it may be wise to set an even younger age limit for such financial assistance to egg freezing patients, for example 30 years of age. This could serve as an incentive to push and encourage women to freeze their eggs even younger for their own benefit, thus boosting their chances of future reproductive success.
Utilizing Central Provident Fund Medisave for egg freezing
In Singapore, the compulsory pension plan that all public and private sector employees must subscribe to is the Central Provident Fund (CPF), the medical component of which is known as Medisave. At present, CPF Medisave can be utilized to fund IVF treatment of married patients who have trouble conceiving. Perhaps, the government should also consider allowing the utilization of CPF medisave for non-medical egg freezing.
Medical fee subsidy for egg freezing in return for egg donation – Freeze and Share
In some countries such as the USA and UK, Freeze and Share programs, in which the medical fees of egg freezing patients are heavily subsidized in return for donation of some of their eggs, have already been operating for several years. The advantage of such a scheme is that there are no additional costs to government coffers, as subsidies come directly from IVF patients receiving egg donation. Moreover, Freeze and Share programs can also overcome the persistent shortage of egg donors for IVF patients in Singapore.
Government-funded low interest-rate loans for egg freezing patients
Yet another option is for the Singapore government to provide loans to younger women freezing their eggs, with low interest rates equivalent to current government loans for university tuition fees and public housing.
Employer-sponsored egg freezing
Perhaps some companies in Singapore might consider sponsoring elective egg freezing for their female employees as a corporate perk, to attract and retain human capital. Indeed, this is already being practiced by tech giants such as Apple, Google and Facebook within the USA.
Refund of medical fees for donation of unused frozen eggs
The Singapore government can also consider allowing women who donate their unused frozen eggs to be refunded medical fees by recipient IVF patients. In this case, ethical problems associated with undue financial inducements, and commercial egg trading are not applicable, because these women are just being reimbursed medical fees that they had already spent.