An LGBTQ+ advocacy group has urged the government to prioritize the reproductive rights of single women and lesbian couples as the Ministry of Health and Welfare prepares to amend the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法).
In a statement on Tuesday, the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR) said that heterosexual couples have access to sperm and egg donation, and single women and lesbian couples should have the same rights.
Providing these groups with access to sperm donations is reasonable and should be a priority as laws are set to be amended, the alliance said.
Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times
On another issue being debated, surrogacy services for gay or infertile couples, the group said it involved the bodily autonomy of a third person, and any discussion should start with making sure the rights of the surrogates and the children are fully protected.
Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) on Sunday said that amending the act would be a challenge, but would be a priority.
Now that the legislature consists of three parties, without any of them having an absolute majority, it is important to reach a consensus between the three and amend the act, Hsueh said.
When legislators held a hearing last month to review a draft amendment of the act that included issues related to gay couples, single women and surrogates, Hsueh said his ministry was open to any discussions.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wen Yu-hsia (溫玉霞) said at the time that 33 countries have legalized surrogacy and that more than 60 percent of Taiwanese support the idea, adding that she wondered why the government seemed to have a conservative approach to the issue.
The reason was that there were many controversies surrounding surrogacy, Hsueh said.
Surrogacy is not legal in Taiwan, and Taiwanese have to adopt a child born to a foreign surrogate mother if they want to make this choice, he said.
In countries where surrogacy is legal, a contract is often made between the surrogate mother and the couple, but if there is a breach of the contract, or if any side wants to seek compensation, legal provisions would have to exist to address such issues, Hsueh said.
Any legislation being considered in Taiwan would also have to provide sufficient protection for surrogates and ensure that their uteruses are not seen simply as “tools,” she added.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said at the hearing that health ministry data showed that more than 40 percent of Taiwanese women who have a partner do not want to get married.
These women are treated as “single women” under the law and are excluded from the act, leading some of them to travel abroad and face the risks of undergoing reproductive assessments and surgeries, Hung said.
Hung said that surrogacy and the reproductive rights of single women and lesbian couples should be discussed separately, as many women were facing age issues related to pregnancy and their needs had to be addressed.
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