Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) yesterday said at least two public hearings would be held on an amendment to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法) after the Lunar New Year, while a few civic groups yesterday said their survey data suggested that more than 80 percent of Taiwanese oppose legalizing surrogacy.
As several versions of amendment bills to the act were proposed by lawmakers, mainly for legalizing surrogacy and expanding the eligibility of assisted reproduction to same-sex couples and single women, Hsueh, at the Legislative Yuan last month, said the ministry would gather more information and draft its amendment bill carefully.
With the new legislative session to begin next week, Hsueh was asked by reporters about the ministry’s plans and progress for revising the Assisted Reproduction Act.
Photo: CNA
He said the ministry has discussed the issues with specialists and has decided on the preliminary content, but it has not been assembled to become the Cabinet’s amendment bill.
However, there are different views on legalizing surrogacy mothers, which were aired during the presidential election, with different parties holding different views, so there is still some distance to cover before society reaches a consensus on the issue, he said.
The ministry has instructed the Health Promotion Administration to hold at least two public hearings to gather opinions after the Lunar New Year holiday, Hsueh said, adding that the public hearings would decide whether the amendment to the act should proceed in two phases.
He said that as the issues concerning legalizing surrogacy are more complicated, some lawmakers and experts have suggested temporarily removing it from discussion, and review the other proposed amendments to the act in the first phase, such as legalizing assisted reproduction for same-sex couples and single women.
If most opinions collected are in favor of amending the act in two phases, the ministry would first propose an amendment that excludes articles on legalizing surrogacy, he said, adding that there is no time schedule or predetermined goal set by the ministry at this time.
Separately, members of Pro Femina Taiwan, the Mothers Shield Alliance and the Taiwan Women’s Life Protection Association held a news conference in Taipei yesterday morning to express their opposition against legalizing surrogacy.
Taiwan Women’s Life Protection Association chairperson Hsieh Hui-chen (解慧珍) said they are against expanding the eligibility for assisted reproduction, either for same-sex couples, single women or other circumstances, and are against legalizing surrogacy.
She said that surrogate mothers in other countries are mostly economically underprivileged and less educated, and they are lending their embryos to earn a living, adding that if the pregnancy process is commercialized, the surrogate mothers’ health condition might be neglected, unless it affects the fetus.
Mothers Shield Alliance deputy secretary-general Shan Hsin-ai (單信愛) said that for a pregnant woman, giving birth to a child is like betting their life, given the risks associated with pregnancy and the potential labor complications, and that the risk should not be transferred to underprivileged woman as the surrogate mother.
She said that an online survey conducted by the alliance between Dec. 17 last year and Jan. 1 showed that 82.1 percent of the respondents opposed legalizing surrogacy.
Additional reporting by CNA
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
RSS