The Cabinet yesterday approved the draft of the Artificial Insemination Law (人工生殖法), legislation which, while good news for many infertile couples, closes the door on surrogate motherhood.
Obstetricians reacted to the draft by saying that it excluded a viable solution for some couples and was too restrictive for those considering artificial insemination.
"There are hundreds of couples who desperately need the help [of surrogate mothers] to give birth," board member of the Taiwan Society for Reproductive Medicine (
Chen said he sympathized with couples who could not have children themselves and said that the Cabinet should liberalize surrogacy, but stressed the importance of the value of legal contracts to prevent any disputes between surrogate mothers and infertile couples.
Chen also said that he was also worried that couples denied surrogacy in Taiwan may turn to women in China for help.
According to the Cabinet's draft, husbands under 60 and wives under 50 who have been diagnosed as infertile will be allowed to have artificial births with the consent of their spouses.
Sperm donors will be limited to those between the ages of 20 and 50; female eggs will be limited to those between the ages of 20 and 40. The donations are to be made free of charge to avoid the possibility of outside profiting or inter-family donations.
A person can give sperm or eggs only until their donation has resulted in a pregnancy. Once this occurs, no future donation is allowed by that individual, and this aspect of the draft has some doctors concerned.
Some feel that the success or failure of sperm or egg should not prevent healthy individuals from continuing to donate.
"The government should scientifically review the probability of incest made by artificial births before the regulation of how many times donations can be made," Chen argued, adding that, in some countries, donations were allowed for an individual for up to 12 successes.
Chen also argued that it would be unreasonable to prohibit exchange of eggs and sperm between, for example, two married couples outside of the legal framework since it is within their rights to do so.
Meanwhile, the draft also made legal the status of children born by artificial insemination, regarding them as legitimate children as long as the couples' marriages are valid.
However, if the artificial births are made without the consent of one spouse or out of threats or fraud, a lawsuit may be filed to deny his or her obligation to the child as long as the child is between one and six years old.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from