SINGAPORE: Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim shared how he helped a family obtain birth certificates for their twin girls who had been stillborn. The twins’ mum, Ms Mandy Too, had reached out to Assoc Prof Lim for assistance over two years ago, and this month, Ms Too was able to get them.
The Sengkang GRC MP, who’d had a stillborn brother, spoke about what his family went through at a debate in Parliament in 2021. Then, last year, filed a parliamentary question concerning whether the new digital birth certificates would include the name of a stillborn child.
While the WP mainly advances causes that affect a broad cross-section of Singaporean society, “every now and then, we also carefully consider raising issues that are narrower in scope, but are nevertheless important, because they are consistent with the beliefs that we hold, and because doing so is the right thing to do,” wrote the MP in a Monday morning (Oct 30) Facebook post.
Read related: Jamus Lim Shares Personal Story, Calls for Support in Stillbirth and Adoption Cases
This is why when Ms Too reached out to him for help getting birth certificates issued for stillborn babies, Assoc Prof Lim was more than willing to do so by filing questions on the matter in Parliament.
“The Ministry provided a way forward, as long as there was demonstrable demand. Through her advocacy, Mandy essentially did the rest; she gathered thousands of signatures to show that, indeed, grieving parents wanted this to happen,” he added.
The MP wrote that he was heartened to hear that the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority is now issuing commemorative birth certificates for stillborn babies and tells grieving parents that this is possible. “This is important, because not everyone in mourning thinks about these things, even if it’ll help them with closure,” he added, calling it a “small administrative step… that is enormously meaningful to those that grieve.”
An Oct 30 CNA piece tells the story of Ms Too and Mr Hoy, whose daughters were stillborn in August 2021. The couple was given a document titled “Notification of a Still-Birth”. While some birth details were indicated on the document, it did not contain the babies’ names. Instead, their daughters, whom they named Abigail and Lara, were merely indicated as “Twin 1” and “Twin 2”.
“It felt wrong that there was no space for their names. You’re basically saying it doesn’t matter what their names are; it doesn’t matter who they are. They’re dead, who cares, you know?” Ms Too is quoted in CNA as saying.
Read also: Jamus Lim Advocates for Streamlined Adoption to Boost Singapore’s Birth Rates
Ms Too went into action and started a petition, which was signed by 2,800 people. She also heard from many bereaved parents. Earlier this month, she was informed by the ICA that she could apply for a commemorative birth certificate for Abigail and Lara. /TISG