The results of participants of faith-based focus group both in Taiwan and Singapore show that they more strong agree with the supporting of restriction on abortion by the institutional settings as the mandatory pre-abortion counseling and waiting period than those from non-faith focus groups’ participants.
Since the institutional settings of the mandatory pre-abortion counseling and waiting period have been enacted in Singapore, this question is asked by two sub-questions: 1) Do you know that the mandatory pre-abortion counseling and 48 hours waiting period are required while women seek to abortion? 2) Do you think that the mandatory pre-abortion counseling and 48 hours waiting period would violate women’s right to abortion?
The Question (2): Do you know that the mandatory pre-abortion counseling and 48 hours waiting period are required while women seek to abortion?
The results of participants of faith-based focus group in Singapore show that most of them know the mandatory pre-abortion counseling and waiting period are required while women seek to abortion. Only some participants do not know these institutional settings before seeking abortion. The participants of faith-based group show more strong supporting altitude toward the mandatory pre-abortion counseling and waiting period than those from non-faith focus groups’ participants.
Table 5: Results of Focus Group Interview on Question (2) Singapore
Participants Participants Answer Keyword
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國
立 政 治 大 學
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N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Code
AF1 Yes, I know. (With head nodding) Yes, I know. (With head nodding) AF2 Yes, I know. (With head nodding) Yes, I know. (With
head nodding) AF3 Yes, I know.(With head nodding) Yes, I know. (With
head nodding) AF6 It seems compulsory. They will the show you
the video what is life, then they will ask you to decide. You can come back later. Maybe many teen age girls they didn’t want to have an abortion. I think it helps. They will also show you how abortion will be done. They will show you the video.
It seems compulsory,
AF4 The Silent Scream. The Silent Scream.
AF6 Yeh, The Silent Scream. I only know it is compulsory. (A disturbance was raised about what is abortion is about thirty years ago.)
I only know it is compulsory.
AF6 Now there are some people need to adopt the babies.
Some people need to adopt the babies.
AF6: If you really want it (to have abortion), then you come back.
AF7 If the women have thought of it thousands of times, then the pre-abortion counseling makes no any sense, just go for it. I mean if she decides to go abortion, then the pre-abortion may make difference for her. (All laugh.) AF6 True, True, True. That is the case my question
is to know why after the pre-abortion counseling, why would they change their mind? For human or for woman, what is the
the informed decision, make a better decision, Give the person all
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立 政 治 大 學
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N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
thing which is correct to do, if they don’t have the informed decisions? For me, if I have the fact decision, I must be informed all the information and facts. All the information must be available to me. Then I can make a better decision and to know why I have to go ahead.
Most of the time, they are told that (the unborn child) is just a tissue, like some pimples. You break it and it has gone. But when baby is moving, baby has the face, could you do that?
So after pre-abortion counseling. Yeh, what I think that we could know what we talk about thousands of times, may my though is wrong.
When you say women have the rights. All of us have the rights. How right is right? My question is how right is right. It is usually a lie or a joke. So when we say about a decision, you must tell it both, all the good things and bad things. To give everybody the full information and let you decide. I mean I am talking about the civil rights. Everybody have to do their own decision. Give the person all the available facts and information. Everything is available and true to her. And she makes her own decision.
No, I don't think it is violating. Women really need to re-think it. I mean before doing abortion. She really needs help. I think the counseling could help.
I don't think it is violating, I think the counseling could help.
AF11 Yes, I know it.
I don't think it is violating. It could help and provide the chance to re-think about it.
Yes, I know it. I
AF12 No, I don't know it either.
I think it could help to think about it, in order to come down to make a right decision.
I think it could help to think about it, in order to come down to make a right decision.
AF13 48 hours may help some women to realize that human life is quite worth to consider.
Especially when women hear the heart beating of the unborn child, they may change their mind. And as we know that the angry or sad emotion of the mother may affect the unborn child. It is good to give the opportunity to know more about the human dignity of the unborn child. As to the pre-abortion counseling, there is a short cut for the abortion if it is given by the pro-choice clinics or institutions. I suggest the neutral third-party to carry it out. Then we will have the true pre-abortion counseling. Pro-life and pro-choice counseling will be quite different. It could be more damage. The government sector actually is more birth control sectors. So they promote the condom and say you can use it.
For the radical feminists the condom use and the contraception are their reproductive rights.
They go around the world and propaganda it, especially in the developing countries. That is the same thing.
The Feminist and pro-choice they deny it (PTSD). Actually, they neglect the hard part of womanhood. They put the sex revolution or sex industry as an important part of abortion.
For the government, they just go for public vote. The rule by the majority always counts.
But its original is inhumanity.
48 hours may help
AF14 I do know that there is pre-abortion counseling set by the government. It gave us counseling.
Because sometimes we are waving, so we say
‘poor choice’. Since it is mandatory, we could go through it and choose our side. The lady could choose to keep the baby or abort it. For her, maybe she is a pro-choice, actually, she doesn’t matter. There is case, about a woman who wants to abortion. I was not there. I saw the after-things. She quite confused for a long time, but after that (pre-abortion counseling), typically, she felt, usually after the abortion, most ladies fell guilty, because part of them become lost, and after that need post counseling. Most of them, not all the times, they would rather escape the reality to view their guilty, their upsets. Because if they could review it, I mean the wrong part of choice, then there again they might gain the strength.
But most of them not choose to review it.
AF15 Waiting period and pre-abortion counseling are good but what I recommendation is to increase the mandatory waiting period. The idea of mandatory waiting period in my understanding is a course of abortion. If you have an abortion situation, now it’s legal. But cut it as far as human beings begins, abortion is a huge decision, of course, she should think of some consequences before you go ahead. So that’s the idea that you could have pre-abortion counseling. After you have given advices and informed some consequences, and I give you some times to think about it before going through this abortion process. What is the objection raised by the other side, they are des-respected because of the pre-abortion counseling. That would be said that woman
Waiting period and
does not understand, perhaps, not intelligent enough, but she has to go through of this process before even she will or will not go through the abortion. Try to force this mandatory on her is a violation of her or not.
My perspective it is quite a need for both women who seek abortion and who is pregnant. For most Singaporean, they will criticize that the government is power, a strong authority, but in fact, most women, especially young girls and young women in Singapore, even married women, and widow women may need go through this because they might not know there are other choices. After giving them all the information, including the adoption, about the consequences of abortion, about the unborn child, and then they go back, to think through the decision fully. And perhaps with the assistances, it may help. They might find more fruitful sides of life. Of course, I know the other side quite cannot accept it.
AF22 Yes, it helps. Yes, it helps.
A23 Yes, I know it. A23-A41 are
non-faith
participants of Singapore.
A24 Yes, I know it.
A25 Yes, I know.
A26 _husband: Yes, I know.
A27 _wife: Yes, I know.
A28 _wife: Yes, I know.
A29 _husband: Yes, I know.
A30 No, I don't know it. (Surprise face!)
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立 政 治 大 學
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N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
A31 No, I don't know, either.
A32 Yes, I know it.
A33 Yes, I know that.
A34 No, I don't.
A35 Yes, I know.
A36 Yes, I know that.
A37 Yes, I know that.
A38 Yes, I know that.
A39 No, I don't know.
A40 I don't know it, either.
A41 Yes, I know.
Note This question is not asked of the faith-based teen girls.