National Population and Family Development Board

Dr SP Choong argues teen pregnancy data cited in a Ministry of Health report is misleading because it counts only hospital births, not abortions. He says the issue must also address access to safe, legal abortion and accurate information.

By CodeBlue
5 March 2026

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.

continued: https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2026/03/teen-pregnancy-data-is-incomplete-without-abortion-figures-dr-sp-choong/

O&G specialist Dr Jamiyah Hassan describes abortion laws in Malaysia as generally grey.

By Alifah Zainuddin
12 October 2022

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 – Contrary to popular belief, termination of pregnancy or abortion has been legal in Malaysia for nearly half a decade, which has kept the number of unsafe abortions “low” in the country, according to an obstetrician and gynaecologist.

Abortion in Malaysia is generally governed by Section 312 of the Penal Code, where the law provides for safe abortion to save a woman’s life and to preserve a woman’s physical and mental health, said Prof Dr Jamiyah Hassan from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) at a recent conference.

Continued: https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2022/10/12/doctor-clarifies-abortion-is-legal-in-malaysia/