Pitfalls of decriminalising attempted suicide

As someone who overcame suicide and is now a passionate advocate for the sanctity of life, I am sad to see suicide being decriminalised in our nation (Do more to help those at risk of suicide, Feb 13).

Suicide is truly a multifaceted and complex issue, and the law should not be excluded from having a deterrent effect on people who see death as the only option in their difficult circumstances.

I gave up the idea of further suicide attempts after police officers gently reminded me that attempting suicide was an offence.

There was no need for the authorities to restrain or prosecute me, for I was cooperative and clearly in distress.

In recent years, I managed to persuade a young foreigner from killing herself just by informing her the offensive nature of suicide in our nation.

Human life is sacred and should not be violated, not even by ourselves.

As someone who once suffered greatly from depression, I found that self-destruction was a way of exerting the last control over my messy life.

My mental illness was a deviant state that nearly robbed me of the abundant life that I am leading now.

However, the strong negative social stigma associated with mental illness and suicide compelled me to seek out alternatives other than death.

The decriminalisation of suicide perpetuates the erroneous message of "my body, my choice".

When it is no longer mandatory to report a suicide attempt, people will stop reporting it as it is not a crime.

https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/pitfalls-of-decriminalising-attempted-suicide

Here is the Government's unconvincing reply letter.

The rightful role of parents in sex education

As a private educator for 18 years, I have encountered an increasing number of children, especially boys, who asked me questions on sex, the youngest at eight years old. Thus, it is heartening to know that parents are taking up their rightful role of imparting sex education to their children (“When my nine-year-old son asks about the birds and the bees”; Feb 8).

As a child growing up, I acquired my sex education through romance novels introduced by peers. Indeed, sex education comes with the teachings on intimacy, love, responsibility and even marriage. Sexual education must include the emotional part of a sexual intercourse. Romance novels are very graphic and skewed in their depiction on sex. I could have experimented with pre-marital sex if not for my parents’ strict upbringing.

A large-scale survey was conducted here by not-for-profit charity organisation Touch Cyber Wellness in 2014, to examine children's exposure to pornography. It polled 836 students aged 13 to 15. It revealed that one in two teenagers here has watched or read sexually explicit materials, with some as young as seven when they were first exposed to it.

Truly, it is the duty of every parent to educate their child before he or she is exposed to the wrong source or bad peer or adult influence.

It is common to hear lower primary school students exchanging vulgar jokes about their private parts.

They have not been taught that their bodies have inherent worth and are not instruments of pleasure at all costs.

It is critical that we teach our children that sex is not a recreational activity to be indulged in before marriage.

The logical consequences of sex without the stability of marriage are children born out-of-wedlock, abortion and sexually transmitted diseases. The youngest age to undergo abortion here was 13 years old. No parental consent is required. Parents may not even know that their child has depression due to such an invasive procedure like abortion.

A child is a gift of life. Parents are granted stewardship of these precious gifts. It is the responsibility of parents to work with trusted adults and institutions to build a hedge around our kids who are increasingly vulnerable to child molestation or sexual abuse.

Every parent, well-educated or not, can be equipped to teach and impart sound values to his child. Together, we build a safe environment for our children such that they gain a heart of wisdom at every stage of their lives.

https://www.todayonline.com/voices/rightful-role-parents-sex-education?fbclid=IwAR0T31J79dXBMx1L3WB7UYaBFulUSivOzjNgxSBDKzRT9EEOxSEF