Open verdict on death of newborn whose mum took abortion pills

Wanting to terminate her pregnancy, an unmarried young woman consumed abortion pills she had bought online and gave birth later that day to a baby girl in a bathroom of her home.

- Shaffiq Alkhatib

The infant died less than two hours later. An autopsy revealed that her gestational age was around 29 to 33 weeks.

The baby's mother, who was then around 23 years old, later told investigators that she did not undergo legal abortion as she found the procedure to be expensive, and she was afraid her parents would find out about it.

The names of all parties in this case have been redacted from court documents, which referred to the mother as Miss FQ.

Following an inquiry on July 11, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda stated in his findings that the baby's cause of death in July 2024 could not be ascertained and declared an open verdict.

According to the Singapore Medical Association's website, an "open verdict" means that the cause of death cannot be reasonably ascertained based on the evidence produced in an inquiry.

The state coroner said it was probable that Miss FQ's consumption of the pills had an effect on her body.

However, he noted that the active ingredient, if any, in the medication could not be established as there were no pills left, and she had thrown away their packaging.

The online seller was also no longer contactable, and Miss FQ had claimed that she could not recall the name of the abortion pills.