This call came in the wake of a recent court case where a 14-year-old girl continued to be raped for almost another year after her rapist sent her for an abortion.

The rapes began in 1998 when the victom was just 12 years old. The rapist was her mother's 59-year-old live-in boyfriend.

For two years, unknown to her mother, the girl was raped repeatedly, and when she became pregnant in April 1999, the rapist brought her for an abortion in a private clinic. But the rapes did not stop, not until she made a police report in March this year.

On July 21, the rapist was sentenced to 22 years in jail. As the traumatic experience of the minor unfolded in court, a compelling question was raised: could the rapes have been stopped earlier if the alarm bell had been rung last year when the victim was sent for abortion?

While checking how it was possible for such a young girl to get an abortion, Channel News Asia found that Singapore has one of the world's most liberal abortion law.

According to the 1974 Termination of Pregnancy Act, the only requirement for an abortion is that it must be performed by a registered medical practitioner with the written consent of the pregnant woman.

That means anyone can undergo an abortion, whether she is a minor or not. It is the only medical procedure in Singapore that does not need parental consent or the consent of a guardian if the patient is under 21.

"For under 14s, it's statutory rape and the onus is on all professionals to report to the police," says Nominated Member of Parliament Claire Chiang. "But from 14 to 16 and between 16 to 21, it is not mandatory. Whereas if you go for a simple operation like a nose job, you need to get parental consent. So I am a little concerned with the inconsistency of the law."

Ms Chiang stressed that it was time to review the Act and seek a public forum - to find out what the society at large as well as the experts think about it, particularly those who deal with traumas.

Dr Jennifer Lee, Nominated MP and CEO of KK Hospital agreed, saying: "It may be time to review the Act, particularly with regard to the very young age at which girls are permitted to have abortions without seeking parental consent."

Vice-President of AWARE Halijah Mohamad, on the other hand, deemed it ironical for us to make the sale of cigarettes for those under 18 illegal but allow girls under 18 free access to abortion.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that an average of 14,000 abortions are performed in Singapore annually - with those under 20 years old making up 10 percent of the numbers.