SMU Dean of Students and Professor of Sociology (Practice) Paulin Straughan commented on the Government’s possible move to relax its regulations on in-vitro fertilisation, thereby allowing young and healthy women to freeze their eggs. Prof Straughan noted that even though the freezing of eggs can provide older women with a chance of becoming pregnant, it may affect our social structure, causing far-reaching societal issues. Prof Straughan explained that Singaporeans typically conceive in their twenties and thirties. This means that their children would be in their thirties when they are approaching old age, and would have the financial means to care for their ageing parents. “However, for a woman who had earlier frozen her eggs, she may possibly deliver her child only in her forties. By then, she will be approaching old age while the child may have just started working. The immaturity and lack of financial ability could make it challenging for the child to support his or her elderly parents,” said Prof Straughan.