After years of deliberation, women – regardless of their marital status – will soon be allowed to freeze their eggs for non-medical reasons to preserve their fertility.
Women aged between 21 and 35 can undergo elective egg freezing, which is done for non-medical reasons, with the introduction of the Assisted Reproduction Services Regulations under the Healthcare Services Act early next year (2023).
Only legally married couples are allowed to use their frozen eggs to try and have a baby via in-vitro fertilisation.
This is in line with existing IVF rules and the idea of “upholding parenthood within marriage”.
The changes, outlined in a White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development released on Monday (March 28), mark a major shift in policy.
Women can now freeze their eggs for medical reasons.
Speaking to reporters earlier in March ahead of the White Paper’s release, Ms Sun Xueling, Minister of State for Social and Family Development, said: “We recognise that there may be women who are not able to find a suitable partner when they are younger, but they still wish to be able to preserve the likelihood of conceiving when they marry later.”
However, there will be “adequate safeguards” in place to ensure that women make a well-informed choice, Ms Sun added.
She said that women will be counselled before freezing their eggs in order to understand the invasive nature and limitations of the procedure. This includes the low success rates, the risks of having babies later in life, and the potential for having them at an older age.
According to Ms Sun, medical research in other countries has shown that the chances of a frozen egg leading a baby being conceived is between 2 and 12 percent.
The studies also found that a very small proportion of women – less than 10 per cent – use their frozen eggs in the end.
Egg freezing preserves fertility because the age of the eggs is not affected by the time they are frozen.
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According to doctors, a woman was born with a finite amount of eggs. The quality and quantity of eggs decreases as she gets older.
As such, the chances that a woman will get pregnant with her age decreases.
As far back as 2012, the Ministry of Health said it was reviewing the medical, scientific and ethical implications of elective egg freezing.
In 2019, the Ministry of Social and Family Development said it was “carefully reviewing” the possibility of allowing elective egg freezing as it may benefit some women because of their personal circumstances, such as not having met Mr Right yet.
Over the years, there have been calls from women’s groups and public figures like Tampines GRC MP Cheng Li Hui to allow for elective egg freezing.
In July last year, the PAP Women’s Wing and Young PAP asked the Government to allow elective egg freezing in a position paper on women’s issues.
When asked about the shift in position, Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo told reporters: “When the idea first came up in our ground engagements, it caused some discomfort.
“There were worries in certain quarters that making elective egg freezing available would send the wrong signal about marriage and parenthood, that they need not be prioritised and can always be postponed.”
However, people began to understand the motivations behind women who decided to pursue the option over time, she said.
Mrs Teo said the move to allow elective egg freezing is not about raising the total fertility rate, but “empowering women with choice”.
Ms Sun responded to a question regarding the age limit of 35 for elective embryo freezing. She stated that it is the same as the current egg donor age limit.
Scientific evidence shows that the quality of a woman’s eggs depreciates significantly after the age of 35, she added.
However, Ms Sun said she would not rule out the possibility of future medical advancements that could lead to changes in the age limits for egg donors and elective egg freezing.
Dr Loh Seong Feei, medical director of Thomson Fertility Centre, said it is “high time” the Government allows elective egg freezing, as women in Singapore are going to Malaysia, Australia and even the United States to freeze their eggs because they cannot do it here.
Dr Loh, who said the age limit of 35 is too restrictive, added that most of his patients contemplating egg freezing are past 35 – and that is when they really start to worry about their biological clock.
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Besides, the procedure is costly – about $10,000 a cycle depending on which country it is done in – and women may not be able to afford it when they are younger, he added.
“Egg freezing is not a guarantee to having a baby as it also depends on other factors like whether your womb can carry a pregnancy by the time you want to use your eggs,” he said.
This article was published in The Straits Times for the first time.
Source: Her World
