In the face of widespread teen pregnancy, health officials are edging closer to lowering the legal abortion age from 20 to 18, a move that would open the door for younger girls to seek help from licensed doctors.
The Bureau of Health Promotion is working on revisions to the Genetic Health Law (
"We are working to achieve a consensus on the definition of adulthood," the bureau's Director-General Lin Shio-jean (
In Taiwan, civil law defines adulthood as 20 and above, but criminal law specifies that those aged over 18 must take responsibility for their own actions.
Under the current Genetic Health Law, girls younger than 20 need their parent or guardian's consent before they can have an abortion in a hospital. Yet many choose to keep their pregnancy a secret and resort to abortion pills or other methods.
The official figures from 1999 to 2002 show that at least 11,600 teenage abortion cases are reported every year. But that figure is just the tip of iceberg, gynecologists said.
"The hospitals only report therapeutic abortions for insurance reimbursement," said Hsu Jenn-jeih (徐振傑), a gynecologist at the Chung Kung Memorial Hospital. "But in fact we are forced to turn away many teenagers who come in without their parents."
Barred from hospitals and lacking parental guidance, many pregnant teens opt for buying the abortion pill RU 486 on the Internet. The Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology estimates that the easy availability of RU 486 may contribute to some 12,000 cases of abortions by girls younger than 20.
The situation is worsened by the fact that some of the pills offered online are potentially dangerous fakes. Since RU 486 entered the Taiwan market four years ago, the Department of Health has reported 3 cases of deaths due to ingestion of bogus RU 486 pills. It warned that about 40 percent of the popular pills hawked on the Internet are counterfeit.
"Fake pills can lead to many pregnancy complications, including partial miscarriage, hemorrhage, septicemia, pelvic inflammatory disease and even death," Hsu said.
Lowering the legal abortion age will greatly reduce these risks and protect women's right to abortions, women's groups say.
"These girls [between 18 and 20 years old] are the victims of a stringent law, and the rules drive them underground," said Taiwan Women's Link President Huang Shu-ying (
The bureau is expected to hammer out a consensus and submit a draft revision of the Genetic Health Law to the Executive Yuan by the end of next month.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS