The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday called for the decoupling of surrogacy issues from the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法), while opposition party caucuses proposed draft amendments with sections dedicated to surrogacy.
The legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee held a meeting to review the draft amendments approved by the Cabinet last month, as well as proposals from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucuses.
The Cabinet’s draft focuses on enhancing the quality of assisted reproduction services, improving the rights and benefits of children born through assisted reproduction — such as the right to blood recognition and status as children born in wedlock — and ensuring the reproductive health of women using assisted reproduction.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) prior to the meeting said that the Cabinet’s version aims to protect the best interests of children and women’s reproductive rights — including unmarried women and married lesbian couples — as well as legalize the management of assisted reproduction services.
The draft did not address surrogacy, given that no public consensus has be reached on the subject, he said.
The KMT and the TPP caucuses’ versions of the bill underline the introduction of surrogacy to improve the welfare of women who cannot naturally conceive or bear children due to a lack of a uterus, uterine or immune disorders, or pregnancy-related risks.
The opposition parties’ versions also state that surrogacy could boost the nation’s low birthrate.
TPP Legislator Chen Gau-tzu (陳昭姿) said the party’s draft was based on a version proposed by the Cabinet in May last year, which was opposed by female DPP legislators.
She yesterday met with DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) ahead of the meeting to discuss the TPP’s latest version, which she said was revised and completed the night before.
The TPP expects its bill, which incorporated the DPP’s suggestions, to meet the desires of all three parties, Chen said.
During the meeting, DPP Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) said that surrogacy issues should be addressed through separate legislation, as it remain a contentious issue.
Most surrogate mothers come from underprivileged social backgrounds and undertake the practice due to financial struggles, and insufficient protection mechanisms could affect the rights and benefits of children born through surrogacy, she said.
For example, the people who hired the surrogate might refuse to pay her if the child develops cerebral palsy caused by a birth-related accident, Lin said, urging Chen not to force the passage of the TPP’s version of the bill.
Other countries’ attitudes toward surrogacy have significantly changed over the past decade, DPP Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) said.
Many European countries have shifted to banning surrogacy, while India has banned commercial surrogacy and legalized only altruistic surrogacy, she said.
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