During a recent seminar, Lu Hung-chi, an emeritus professor from National Taiwan University, stunned his audience when he said an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 abortions were performed in Taiwan last year. With only around 166,000 births last year, Taiwan’s birthrate reached yet another record low. The number of abortions significantly dwarfs the number of births. In order to help resolve birth and pregnancy related issues, the government should encourage people to have children and also establish channels for pregnancy counseling, reporting pregnancies, and adoption.
The Deputy Director General of the Bureau of Health Promotion under the Department of Health (DOH), Chao Kun-yu, said that around 240,000 induced abortions were registered annually over the past three years, including medically induced abortions.
Chao also said that based on analysis of induced abortion data provided by the Bureau of National Health Insurance, besides slightly more than 210,000 abortions registered in 2004, 180,000 to 190,000 abortions were performed annually from 2006 to 2009. According to statistics from the DOH’s Food and Drug Administration, the abortifacient drug mifepristone (RU486) was used for 40,000 to 50,000 medical abortions annually over the past three years, which means there were about 240,000 abortions performed each year. However, this figure does not include clandestine abortions.
Photo: Courtesy of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology
照片:台科大提供
Chao said current legislation on induced abortions specifically states that the spouse’s consent, is required if an abortion is performed for psychological or family reasons. Civil groups say that such legislation is a direct violation of women’s rights. Thus, when the drafted version of the Eugenics Protection Act was sent to legislature in 2009, this clause was altered so that the spouse is merely notified, and the mother shall be granted a three-day reflection period to carefully consider her decision, and giving her the opportunity to visit a professional counseling institution. However, the draft is still in the legislature, and has yet to pass legislation.
Professor Lee Mao-sheng from Chung Shan Medical University’s Institute of Medicine said it is worth noticing that in the past mostly teenagers were getting abortions, but that the number of people old enough to get married and opting to have abortions has skyrocketed in recent years. The reason is that they feel they cannot afford having children, or because they are afraid of the extra burden. A lot of people are simply choosing not to get married or have children, or deciding not to have children even after getting married.
Lee said that because of the economic recession, soaring real estate prices and stagnating salaries, the abortion rate has risen by around 20 percent over the past few years. However, with the arrival of the year of the dragon, the abortion rate is expected to fall to 10 percent, and the number of newborns next year is expected to increase to between 180,000 and 200,000.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY TAIJING WU)
台大名譽教授呂鴻基近日在一場研討會上令人震驚表示,每年推估台灣有三十萬到五十萬的小生命「被拿掉」。台灣總生育率去年創下新低,只有十六萬六千多個寶寶出生。被拿掉的小生命比出生的還多很多。政府應鼓勵生育,亦應建立懷孕諮詢申報、輔導及領養管道,儘量解決民眾所面臨的生育問題。
衛生署國民健康局副局長趙坤郁表示,根據近三年來每年人工流產加上使用墮胎藥平均人次,一年墮胎就已約達二十四萬人次。
趙坤郁表示,以健保局人工流產資料分析,除了二零零四年有二十一萬四百三十七人次,從九十五年到九十八年都在十八萬到十九萬人次。依據衛生署食品藥物管理局統計RU486平均使用人次,近三年每年平均約四萬到五萬人次。也就是說,一年的墮胎人次就有約二十四萬人次,還不包括透過地下管道墮胎的個案。
趙坤郁說,現行規定因心理、家庭因素要施行人工流產,需經配偶同意。但民間團體宣稱違反婦女自主權。因此九十八年優生保健法草案送到立法院,改為只需告知配偶,但為了讓婦女有更多的思考,設計三天思考期,讓懷孕婦女可以透過專業輔導諮商機構,充分考慮是否墮胎。不過,草案都還在立法院,尚未完成修法。
中山醫學大學醫學研究所教授李茂盛則表示,值得警惕的是,過去「刻意」拿掉小生命的族群以青少年居多,但近年來,選擇拿掉小生命的適婚年齡族群有竄起之勢,因為很多人怕養不起、怕負擔。不少人不婚也不生,即便婚了也不生。
李茂盛指出,最近幾年,經濟不景氣、房價飆高、薪水停滯調漲,墮胎率也受到影響高出兩成,不過,隨著龍年的到來可望減緩,預估墮胎率可以降至一成,明年新生兒的出生數,可望上升至十八萬到二十萬。
(自由時報記者魏怡嘉)
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