Singapore (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The parliament of Singapore has legalized "reimbursement" for the donation of organs from people who are still alive. At the end of a two-day debate, the parliament approved the measure with 79 out of 84 lawmakers voting in favor; four abstained, and there was one vote against.
Since gaining independence in 1965, the city-state has been led by the People's Action Party, which enjoys a wide majority in the parliament with 82 representatives. During the discussion, only a tiny minority expressed concerns about the "possible legalization of organ traffic."
Health minister Khaw Boon Wan insists that the new law "is not to legalize organ trading." He specifies that the new norm is intended to "correct" the "extreme positions" that "criminalize all kinds of payment to the donor." The minister added that Singapore already has a law regulating donation, and that "we will be strengthening it."
The government proposed a modification to the text following the arrest, last June, of billionaire Tang Wee Sung: the magnate spent a day in jail, and was sentenced to pay a fine for trying to buy a kidney from an Indonesian donor. The government then decided to regulate the area, to allow donors to receive legal payment.
According to member of parliament Christopher de Souza, "the framework in the bill could be the subject of abuse." Halimah Yacob, a dissident parliamentarian, stresses that many immigrant laborers hit by the economic crisis and left jobless could be induced to donate organs in order to survive. "To a desperate foreign worker," he says, "even a reimbursement of 10,000 Singapore dollars (6,600 US dollars) would be attractive compared to going home empty-handed with a huge debt waiting for him."