Chin Alexis Heng Boon, Alon Ido, Weerasekera Timothy Anand, Bosenge-Nguma Jean Didier, Sun Ningyu
Singapore Fertility and IVF Consultancy Pvt Ltd., Chinatown, Singapore.
Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Health Care Anal. 2025 Jun 12. doi: 10.1007/s10728-025-00521-6.
Singapore is a small, affluent and technologically advanced city-state located in Southeast Asia. Due to its lack of natural resources, this country relies heavily on its highly educated and skilled workforce to drive its economic engine. However, in recent years, Singapore has been facing a demographic crunch due to its ultra-low fertility rate and rapidly aging population, which poses an existential threat to its survival as a nation-state. The advent of new reproductive technologies such as In Vitro Gametogenesis (IVG) and Stem Cell-Based Embryo Models (SCBEMs) may thus provide novel fertility treatment options for local patients, which may possibly alleviate Singapore's ultra-low birthrate. Nevertheless, these new technology platforms also raise various controversial ethical, legal and social issues. It is anticipated that the application of SCBEMs (also known as synthetic embryos) in human reproduction will likely be banned because these entities are viewed as human clones. Conversely, IVG technology is expected to receive approval in Singapore for a narrow range of applications in human clinical assisted reproduction, as it seeks to recapitulate the natural process of human sexual reproduction and is more aligned with Singapore's family laws and sociocultural values. It is anticipated that IVG will be permitted for the treatments of primary infertility and age-related female infertility, facilitating transgender and intersex parenthood and preventing the transmission of genetic diseases. However, the applications of IVG in posthumous reproduction, mass production of donor gametes, genetic enhancement of offspring, same-sex, solo- and multiplex-parenthood, will likely be banned.
新加坡是一个位于东南亚的富裕且技术先进的城市国家，面积狭小。由于自然资源匮乏，该国严重依赖其受过高等教育和技能熟练的劳动力来推动经济发展。然而，近年来，由于超低生育率和人口迅速老龄化，新加坡正面临人口危机，这对其作为一个民族国家的生存构成了生存威胁。因此，体外配子发生（IVG）和基于干细胞的胚胎模型（SCBEMs）等新生殖技术的出现，可能为当地患者提供新的生育治疗选择，这可能会缓解新加坡的超低出生率。然而，这些新技术平台也引发了各种有争议的伦理、法律和社会问题。预计SCBEMs（也称为合成胚胎）在人类生殖中的应用可能会被禁止，因为这些实体被视为人类克隆。相反，IVG技术预计将在新加坡获得批准，用于人类临床辅助生殖的有限范围应用，因为它试图重现人类有性生殖的自然过程，并且更符合新加坡的家庭法律和社会文化价值观。预计IVG将被允许用于治疗原发性不孕症和与年龄相关的女性不孕症，促进跨性别和双性人育儿，并防止遗传疾病的传播。然而，IVG在死后生殖、供体配子的大规模生产、后代的基因增强、同性、单亲及多亲育儿方面的应用可能会被禁止。
