Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Challenges That Inhibit the Issuance of a Birth Certificate Alongside a Death Certificate for Singapore Citizen Children Who Are Stillborn

Question:

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what are the (i) administrative and (ii) practical challenges that currently inhibit the issuance of a birth certificate alongside a death certificate for Singapore citizen children who are stillborn in cases where these parents wish to have the child’s birth certificate issued.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law:

1.   The intent of a birth certificate is to serve as a certification of the registration of a live birth and as an identity document for the child, which can then be used for administrative purposes, such as the provision of Government services. Hence, birth certificates are not issued to stillbirths.

2.   For stillbirths, once the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 2021 comes into force, a digital stillbirth certificate will be issued to the parents.