How an experiment in Singapore ended in which women were punished for having more than 2 children

In the 70s-80s, there were many social changes in Singapore. The city-state grew and became an economic power, a reference in the whole world. But at the same time that this occurred, some measures created a series of problems for the poorest. For example, the state did not help people in need or without higher education. There was also a policy that encouraged measures such as female sterilization for those who already had several children. These policies traumatized many women. Faced with “Sofia’s choice”, many of them had no option but to have the surgery.

Today, the state has radically changed its policy. O awesome.club decided to find out what the real reason was and how the need arose to adopt such radical methods of birth control.

There are triplets in this belly. But the third child would be too much for Singapore

In the middle of the 20th century, in the period just after the Second World War, Singapore was a poor state, very different from the power it is today. There were not enough homes, schools and medical facilities for everyone. Many people were unemployed, living in abandoned houses or in bankrupt shops. There were a great lack of food and even drinking water was brought in from Malaysia.

The situation has worsened due to the rapid growth of the population – the so-called baby boom🇧🇷 Therefore, starting in 1949, the Singapore Family Planning Association began offering family counseling and contraceptive methods. Population growth rates have since declined, dropping from 4-5% in the 1950s to 2.5% in 1965. But the government still considered the number too high.

In the 1970s, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew implemented the program known as “Stop at the second”.

Women were allowed to have abortions. Citizens with low education were encouraged to undergo sexual sterilization. For post-surgery treatment they would receive $10,000 and a week’s paid leave to undergo the procedure. Many women (including those under 25 years of age) have been forced to undergo tubal ligation (or surgery to disrupt the fallopian tubes) after the birth of their second child. Otherwise, they would not be able to choose schools for their older children or stand in line for housing.

People who still had the courage to have their third child would pay more taxes and additional fees🇧🇷 Public sector employees would be deprived of the opportunity to take advantage of maternity leave for this third child and for those eventually born. Some cases caught my eye: for example, a saleswoman named Mary Co had to have an abortion in 1976 because she and her husband didn’t have $150 to pay the obstetrician’s fee for their third child.

The fight against population growth was also expressed more subtly, with the introduction of some ideologies:

“Small families = Bright future. Two is enough”🇧🇷 “The second can wait”🇧🇷 “Getting married as a teenager means rushing through problems. A happy marriage can wait”🇧🇷

The policies have paid off. According to gynecologist Paul Tan, up to 9 sexual sterilization surgeries were performed per day. “Women would say things like, ‘Doctor, I think I’m pregnant again.’ As if they had committed a crime.”reminds the doctor.

And so, growth rates slowed to such an extent that the government ended up deciding to change policy again.

Poster, Please stop at the second (1972), hanging in a Singapore clinic

Fewer children were being born and Singapore’s population began to decline. Lee Kuan Yew began to get worried: according to his observations, men married more often women of low intellectual and economic status🇧🇷 A new program was introduced to encourage more educated women to have 3 or 4 children. Women who had graduated from university would receive tax benefits and priority housing rights.

In 1987, the government told all parents to have as many children as they could afford, removing all restrictions. However, the population continued to decline, and in 2007 the birth rate reached 1.29 children per woman, up from 6 children per woman in the 1960s.

Graph of population growth per 1,000 population in Singapore

If the moral aspects of this experiment are not taken into account, the following observations can be made.

More children are born to low-income, low-educated women (high-income, well-educated families rarely have 3 or 4 children). However, it is perfectly normal and expected that a child with greater intellectual capacity is born even in families where the parents have not had any education. There are millions of examples of people who were born into simple families and made it through life. Intelligence is passed on to the child by the mother no more than 40%. The rest is the result of perseverance and the influence of the environment. The risk here is that the lack of adequate nutrition resulting from poverty during pregnancy will somehow affect the child’s intelligence. Among men, those with complete elementary or secondary education are more likely to be alone. AND, among unmarried women, the largest number are those who have completed higher education🇧🇷 It is not enough to just offer financial incentives for people to have large families. Since 2001, the Singapore government has been providing benefits for the 2nd child ($9,000) and 3rd child ($18,000). However, young people are more focused on their professional careers than on raising a family. In China, where the “One child per family” policy was introduced less forcefully, the population continues to grow, but at a slower pace. While in 1949 the fertility rate (number of children per woman) was 5.54, in 2017 it was 1.24 children. As a general rule, in urban areas, people were easily limited to just one child, since it required large expenses. On the other hand, residents of rural areas, contrary to the prohibition, normally had more than 2 children.

Lee Kuan Yew was convinced that “intelligent” people would only be born into families with a higher level of education among their parents. In 1984, the government launched the so-called “Positive Eugenics Policy”. There are state marriage agencies that select their partner according to the appropriate social level or status. Those interested can have their meetings at the agency itself, in private, where there are several sports clubs, cinemas, cafes and swimming pools.

Tea parties, wine tastings, cooking workshops and even romantic cruises are held to encourage young people to marry. After the wedding, the newlyweds are given a large loan to buy a house.

The government introduced a new discipline for university students — Love Lessons. Girls and boys watch romantic movies, learn to recognize when other people are interested in them, and hold hands to get rid of complexes.

In fact, Singapore’s population would decline without the current extreme government policies. In many countries, including neighbors in Southeast Asia, people are marrying later and having fewer children. In big cities, both women and men are more concerned with getting a good job than building a family.

And there is, in several countries, the risk that the population will begin to decline. Unless the government starts taking care of children from birth so their parents can continue to work.

Do you think that the State has the right to interfere in the private family life of each one, form couples or control the birth of babies, whether to increase or decrease the population? Give your opinion!