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Encourage adoption as well as more kids

`Adoption should be encouraged. Not only those couples who cannot have children, but those who can should be encouraged to adopt.'

Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲) is wondering how to encourage people to have children and even plans to reward couples who have a third child because he is worried about Taiwan's ageing population. What Yu doesn't get is that people are unlikely to have a third child just to get another NT$30,000.

The reason people don't have a third child is that they are afraid of raising it. Yu should concentrate on identifying and encouraging people willing to raise children. I have two suggestions for him.

First, support the legalization of surrogate motherhood, which is included in the proposed law on artificial birth, because this is the wish of women and couples who want children but are unable to have them. These people want to raise children with whom they have a direct blood tie. They have a strong wish to be parents, will not be afraid of raising children and their wishes should be respected. Under Yu's proposals, they will not be eligible for the NT$20,000 subsidy for in vitro fertilization, but they will do anything they can to find ways to raise their own children.

Second, the total number of abortions is reportedly between 20,000 and 30,000 a year. People who can have children, particularly young people in excellent health, are destroying a growing life, while the government is trying to encourage the creation of life. Due to the trend toward late marriages, many couples will probably be too old to have a third child. Shouldn't we then find ways to let these progressing lives develop fully? Shouldn't we let those who can't have children but want them take over the second part of the duty of those who do not want children?

I guarantee, however, that such an idea will be even more difficult to get people to accept than supporting the legalization of surrogate mothers, since Chinese society abounds with myths about blood relations. Some people are afraid to adopt once they have their own children, not to mention adopting without having children first.

Adoption should be encouraged. Not only those couples who cannot have children, but those who can should be encouraged to adopt. A reward program should be directed towards couples that are willing to adopt children already born or about to be born. For example, couples adopting a child should be given a higher tax deduction than other families. It is the duty of the Ministry of the Interior to remove the stigma surrounding adoption and make people believe that caring for someone who is not a blood relative is something of which to be proud.

Instead of increasing the num-ber of children in families from two to three, it would be better to help families increase their number of children from zero to one. Most people will agree that having a third child is a burden, while going from zero to one may be the end of a tragedy and the beginning of happiness. Hopefully, the example of my husband and I, who adopted our only child from a family who had their third child, could serve as a reference.

Chen Gau-tzu is chief pharmacist at Sun Yat-sen Hospital.

Translated by Perry Svensson
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