Surrogacy Debate Remains Divisive Amid Taiwan's Birth Rate Crisis

TaiwanPlus News

Despite Taiwan facing a plummeting birth rate and being the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, the country continues to restrict access to assisted reproduction like IVF for anyone outside of a married heterosexual couple. The practice of surrogacy, fraught with ethical issues, remains banned altogether. It's left some couples to go to extraordinary lengths to start families of their own. TaiwanPlus speaks with one of them.

Transcript

00:00For Eddie and his partner, also called Eddie, having children of their own had

00:09always been a dream. And while heading to the park is now a cherished part of

00:13family life, it wasn't an easy journey. The reason that we started this journey

00:20is that we felt like we have a lot of love that we want to pass it on. Having

00:24babies definitely like something that we always want to do, but it also took us a

00:29while to kind of figure out what are some of the options that can be available to

00:33us. So yes, that's something that we have envisioned of doing for years.

00:39Their son Max, not his real name, is now almost two. He was born in Portland, Oregon

00:43in the United States via surrogacy, a practice that remains banned in Taiwan.

00:49At the time, it cost them more than 130,000 U.S. dollars. Today, that figure has risen

00:54to nearly 200,000. And Max's birth didn't just come with a high price tag. Delayed

01:00by COVID, the couple spent two years on a waiting list before finally being matched

01:05with their surrogate mother, Jen.

01:06Hi, Jen. How do you say?

01:08Hi.

01:08Hi. What's up? Good morning.

01:10Good morning.

01:11Good morning.

01:12I know a lot of people might think the whole surrogate thing is like more a

01:17transactional process, but actually not. Like when you are working with a surrogate,

01:23it's actually a both-way situation that you are not just interviewing them, they are also

01:29interviewing you at the same time as well. So it's a mutual agreement. You both need to

01:35feel comfortable working with each other.

01:38Jen, a mother of two, helped give Eddie and his husband the chance to start a family.

01:43And their two families remain close, even reuniting in Max's birthplace in Portland.

01:48But while surrogacy made their dream possible, here in Taiwan, it's still a deeply divisive

01:55issue.

02:09At the end of last year, lawmakers hoping to tackle a persistently low birth rate began

02:14reviewing changes to the Assisted Reproduction Act. Meant to expand single women and same-sex

02:19couples access to services like IVF, it also included the possibility of legalizing surrogacy.

02:26But after two public hearings, the health ministry said opposition to surrogacy was overwhelming,

02:32and it was dropped from the proposed amendments.

02:34Critics say legalizing surrogacy could lead to the exploitation of women and children.

02:53And while supporters acknowledge such risks exist in less developed countries,

02:58family lawyer Sherman Lin says that's not a danger Taiwan needs to fear.

03:02The Taiwan medical industry, I think, is the top three in the world. We have the really good

03:09technique. And in the legal side, our judge, our congressmen are pretty mature,

03:14can be really detailed and really careful for establishing all kinds of the legal.

03:18Yeah, so I think under a mature system of the medical and the law, Taiwan can go pretty smoothly.

03:26Despite this, those working in the area of fertility say there's still a lot of pushback,

03:31often from misconceptions about surrogacy. And until there's more awareness,

03:36legalization still feels a long way off.

03:38legalization still feels like there's still a lot of pushback,

03:41legalization still feels like there's still a lot of pushback.

03:44I think there's still a lot of people need to see the needs of the people who are

03:50going to be on the social media. Or why are they going to be on the social media?

03:56The plan is that the needs of the people who are willing to be on the social media.

03:57In the US, many of the family's families are not very bad.

04:02And for Eddie and Eddie, their surrogacy journey was all about love.

04:17So I think it doesn't need to be like just there's only one option when it comes to what

04:24family is about, what having the kids is about.

04:28As long as you have parents, mom and dad who really fell in love with their kids and really

04:37spend time and effort to raise their kids, I think that's the most important thing of

04:41all.

04:42I have a child that I really love him and it completes my life.

04:50The couple now hope to grow their family with a second surrogacy in the U.S. But for many

04:55in Taiwan, the chance to start a family this way remains out of reach.

04:59And for now, just a dream.

05:01Alex Chen and Izzy Wells for Taiwan Plus.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended