Amendments to a reproductive rights law focusing on women’s autonomy, and supporting single and queer women who want to have children have been submitted to the Executive Yuan, Health Promotion Administration Director-General Shen Ching-fen (沈靜芬) said yesterday.
Shen spoke to reporters before a news conference about blood pressure, saying that proposed amendments to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法) supporting women’s reproductive autonomy are being reviewed by the Executive Yuan.
If a woman with viable eggs and a uterus wishes to get pregnant and give birth, the government should support her in realizing this dream, Shen said, adding that the scope of the amendment is limited to single and queer women.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
Since Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage in 2019, more queer couples have begun raising children, but surrogacy is still prohibited domestically and seeking it abroad is in a legal gray area.
Recently, controversy has erupted online concerning overseas surrogacy cases.
One surrogacy case in Mexico resulted in quadruplets that led to claims of “buying children,” while another person who used a US surrogate was criticized for posting an unedited birth video and dismissing the need for prenatal checkups.
Shen said that every person has their own preferences and did not comment on any specific case.
She said that the privacy, rights and autonomy of surrogates are of the utmost importance, and that the interests of the child should be at the core of any birth plan.
The provisions in this amendment require assessing both parties’ circumstances before proceeding with assisted reproduction to ensure that the arrangement can serve the best interests of the future child, Shen said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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