Sociologist, Aware: Yes

WHO:

Dr Chua Beng Huat, sociologist, National University of Singapore

The Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware)

WHAT:

Single unwed mothers should have the same privileges as married couples (and divorcees and widows).

Social stigma and policies unfriendly to single unwed mums contribute to the 12,000 abortions here a year. Those babies would have added to the country's population - alleviating some concerns about the country's fertility rate.

Prominent sociologist Chua Beng Huat made the argument recently that if more mothers were encouraged to keep their babies, Singapore would have added to its population.

He argued that Singapore has about 12,000 abortions a year, due in part to single mothers fearing the social stigma that comes with raising a child in such circumstances.

Elaborating on his views, he tells The New Paper on Sunday that Singapore should follow the example of France and some Scandinavian countries, where single mothers get more acceptance.

In those countries, a permissiveness in family structures has sustained high birth rates - at times higher among unmarried couples than married ones, he says.

"Giving benefits to single parents is not the same as encouraging single motherhood," he says.

If a single unwed mother works, she is entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave and two days of childcare leave a year until the child turns seven.

But unlike married, divorced or widowed mothers, these mothers do not get the Baby Bonus cash gift or Marriage and Parenthood tax benefits.

Aware has also consistently petitioned the Government to help single mothers as one way to boost the birth rate. In a press release, it said that the continued denial of maternity and parenting benefits for the families of unwed mothers was a "disappointing omission" from the Government's most recent enhancement of the Marriage and Parenthood package.

It felt that the policy to deny benefits to unwed mothers also contradicts the Government's direction to give every child an equal start in life.

Assistant Professor Teo You Yenn, an Aware board member and a sociology lecturer at the Nanyang Technological University, adds: "We would further add that discrimination is detrimental to building an inclusive society and a sense of community, where people feel a sense of mutual responsibility towards each others' well-being."

What perks they get

Married parents of Singaporean children generally get: