by Bridget Lew
Founder, HOME

A foreign domestic worker faces the awful dilemma of having to abort her child if she wants to work in S’pore

AT A RECENT meeting in Bangkok, participants from the region were shocked to learn that in Singapore migrant domestic workers are deported immediately when they are found to be pregnant.

Take the case of Mary Lou. After arriving in Singapore, she failed her medical examination because she was found to be pregnant.

The agent persuaded her to terminate her pregnancy. She was confused but she eventually agreed to an abortion to avoid being deported to the Philippines.

If she had been deported, Mary Lou would be in financial difficulties – how could she pay her debt to the agency?

Mary Lou was only 20 years old (she cheated on her age) and her pregnancy was the result of relations with her boyfriend back home.

She was taken to the abortion clinic, where in a matter of minutes, the abortion was performed. She bled profusely – there was no time to rest or recuperate from the death of the foetus. Despite suffering physically and mentally, Mary Lou was sent straight to her employer to work.

After all, she was here to work and earn a living. Her nightmare began ... still traumatised by her abortion, she could not focus on her work.

This led to abuses from an employer who could not understand her lapses. When HOME was told of Mary Lou’s sad experience, her ‘forced abortion’, the matter was brought to the attention of the police.

Investigations took a considerable period of time. The abortion case was referred to the Singapore Medical Association.

However, the Association would not pursue the complaint because of contrary evidence from the doctor. It was a doctor’s word against a ‘maid’.

As for her case against her employer for physical abuse, the police eventually concluded the case after a year – with a warning to her employer.

Upon the conclusion of her case, Mary Lou went home – without a cent. The experience of Mary Lou is not exceptional.

HOME has come across a number of migrant domestic workers who resort to abortion when they find themselves pregnant.

Whatever their religious beliefs, abortion seemed the only way out when work conditions ‘restrict’ the right to be pregnant. It is tragic when migrant domestic workers are not able to protect the lives within their bodies because of harsh economic reality.

This is a reality in which human lives are sometimes traded as commodities.

Women who chose to work as domestic workers in Singapore face the dilemma of how they can protect their unborn children without breaking the rules they have to abide with.

HOME’s mission is: No man, woman or child is a stranger. We are family. At HOME, we are committed to the protection of migrant babies for they are the precious gifts of God to the world.

A CHILD IS BORN:
Rosemary is the child of a migrant Indonesian domestic worker who used to work in Singapore. Rosemary’s father is an Indian man. Rosemary’s mother chose not to abort her baby. She went to a safe haven in Batam, where she gave birth.