Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) visited lawmakers of different parties yesterday to push for the passage of an amendment to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法).
It was the first time that Ko, a former Taipei mayor, appeared at the Legislative Yuan since being released on NT$70 million (US$2.2 million) bail in September last year in a corruption case.
He had been detained since late 2024 on allegations that he accepted bribes related to the Core Pacific City development project in 2022 during his tenure as mayor and embezzled political donations during his 2024 presidential campaign.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Speaking with reporters, Ko said amending the Assisted Reproduction Act would benefit the public and it would be inappropriate for political parties to fight over the bill and “oppose it simply for the sake of opposing it.”
“I’m here to persuade the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to support the amendment to the act,” Ko said. “The act does not involve ideology. It’s for the public’s good.”
Last month, the Cabinet unveiled an amendment to the act, aiming to extend access to assisted reproduction from infertile heterosexual couples to single women and married lesbian couples.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Under the proposals drafted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, single women and lesbian couples would be granted access to
assisted reproductive technology.
Another proposal by TPP Legislator Chen Gao-tzu (陳昭姿), a doctor-
turned-politician, has pushed for since early 2024 would include a surrogate mother mechanism, but the DPP has opposed the idea, which Chen criticized for putting politics above public welfare.
As Chen is to step down as a TPP legislator-at-large after serving in the role for two years based on party rules, Ko showed up at the Legislative Yuan to seek support for Chen’s proposal before her term ends.
Ko said that after his release, he had read court documents every day for oral arguments in the bribery case hearing in the Taipei District Court, but since the trial has ended, he had time to visit political parties and urge them to pass Chen’s amendment.
Ko, who maintained that he was not guilty during the trial, is scheduled to receive a verdict on March 26.
In response to media queries for comment, Health Promotion Administration (HPA) Director-General Shen Ching-fen (沈靜芬) said the HPA has referenced other countries and gathered opinions from medical, academic and social groups as it wrote its amendment draft with plans to extend the application of the act to include female same-sex couples who have completed marriage registration, as well as unmarried women, in response to the actual needs of diverse family structures.
Surrogacy involves multiple aspects including ethical, legal, maternal and infant health and human rights issues, Shen said
Saying there must still be a comprehensive assessment based on international practices, the national situation, social expectations and the best interests of children, she stressed the need to strengthen communication and build a consensus.
Additional reporting by Ho Chia-yu
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