I would like to comment on The Star‘s excellent and timely cover story on teen pregnancy, published on March 1, 2026. However, I must point out that the figures on teen pregnancies as quoted by the Ministry of Health (MOH) only indicate the number of teens delivering in hospital. They exclude those teens who have had their pregnancies terminated as they have no data on this.
As MOH hospital policy usually provide abortions where there is risk of severe medical complications, so most abortions are provided by the private sector, but the MOH does not collect this data, unlike most other countries. Therefore, the figures can only be estimates.
Statistics from Singapore have shown that half of all teen pregnancies recorded are terminated (aborted). As access to abortions in Malaysia are less openly accessible than in Singapore, we can fairly estimate that only one-third of teen pregnancies are aborted; meaning that out of every 100 teens recorded in hospitals, another 50 would have had their pregnancies terminated.
We know that abortion providers are widely available in the private sector, but they mostly keep a very low profile because of the stigma associated with abortion. So almost all are done by competent doctors.
The experts in the article have explained clearly the long-term social consequences of teen motherhood and added risk of medical complications during pregnancy especially in younger teens.
Those who have chosen to terminate their pregnancies would have considered all the negative consequences described above and such distress would be recognised by most doctors as legal indications for providing the abortion. Early abortions (under 12 weeks) are simple and very safe procedures taking less than ten minutes in a clinic. The mortality rate is about one per million.
However, lack of public information is a barrier. Women will ask: where can I go for surgical abortion or get the pills, what is the cost, how safe is it? Thus, in discussing solutions, providing information on the access to and safety of abortion services is essential.
Surveys of public knowledge of abortion show that 90 per cent of the population still think it illegal despite the law being amended in 1989 which allows a medical doctor to make a judgement on the client’s needs.
We believe that all these teens with unplanned pregnancies should be given a choice and those who wish to continue, should be given all the necessary medical care and social support like continuing education and child care facilities etc.
The outreach work of the National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN) and OrphanCare are admirable, but they do not comprise the whole solution, and we cannot ignore the 30 per cent who seek to terminate their pregnancies.
To enable the latter, information and advice should easily be available at MOH health care facilities. Unfortunately, the MOH has no policy to support this. In Malaysia, the Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia (RRAAM) has tried to fill the gap by providing accurate information on safe abortion services.
This is clearly needed as at last count, the RRAAM receives 4,500 calls a year. It has a network of safe abortion providers who support its primary objective: that all who need to abort an unwanted pregnancy can find a clinic that can provide it safely and in a supportive environment.
As always, abortion is the invisible elephant in the room whenever unwanted teen pregnancies are discussed. I hope this clarification will help open up discussion on an important social and public health issue.
Dr SP Choong is a founder member and hotline coordinator of the Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia (RRAAM).
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