The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to submit proposed amendments to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法), which would allow same-sex couples and single women access to in vitro fertilization (IVF), to the Executive Yuan for review before the end of the year, officials said yesterday.
A preview of the draft bill, which also includes regulations governing surrogacy and IVF providers, was opened to public feedback from May 14 to July 13, and received 600 responses, Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee to discuss the bill.
The responses were mainly concerned with questions about the welfare of children born via IVF and equal rights protection for LGBTQ+ couples during assessment for IVF treatment, Chiu said.
Photo: CNA
They also expressed concern over surrogate children’s legal status and rights, legal classification of surrogacy agencies and the policy’s potential side effects, including possible exploitation of surrogate mothers and human trafficking, he said.
The amendments aim to address concerns about implementing equality rules in IVF eligibility assessment process to protect single women and lesbian couples, he said.
Chiu told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting that the ministry is working on regulations governing surrogate mothers, but it is proceeding with caution because of the fraught nature of the issue, he said.
The ministry has convened six meetings with experts in medicine, women’s rights, children’s rights, ethics, and law to discuss surrogate motherhood, he said.
The ministry expects the Health Promotion Administration to submit a drat bill in November, Chiu said.
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