Cabinet Approves Draft To Expand Coverage for Assisted Reproduction

TaiwanPlus News

Taiwan's Cabinet has approved a draft amendment that would open assisted reproductive services to lesbian married couples and unmarried women but stops short of legalizing surrogacy. While some advocates have welcomed the government's attempts to expand inclusivity, they say the bill continues to neglect those who cannot carry children themselves.

Transcript

00:00Taiwan's cabinet says it's time to ensure the right to seek assisted reproduction

00:04for married lesbian couples and unmarried women.

00:08They've proposed changing the current laws to do that.

00:11The proposal was originally submitted by the Health Ministry.

00:32It aims to tackle the country's declining birth rate, the lowest in the world.

00:37It says anyone with a healthy uterus should be able to decide whether to have children.

00:43But some say it excludes those who don't have a healthy uterus.

00:48LGBTQ plus rights group's Tongzhi hotline says while it supports the government's efforts at inclusivity,

00:54more open and nuanced discussions about surrogacy options is needed.

01:07Surrogacy is illegal in Taiwan, and while legalizing it was included in the Health Ministry's proposal,

01:24that was dismissed during cabinet reviews.

01:27Some lawmakers who support the practice cite polls from the past three decades favoring legalization.

01:33They say officials need to listen to the public.

01:36This method is a vote. It is not true.

01:40And for the women who are not eligible for waiting for waiting for a child,

01:44especially for a child who has a disease, and for the women who have a child's desire,

01:48it is a pleasure.

01:49Some women in Taiwan are confident that once surrogacy is properly regulated,

01:54it will allow women to decide if they want to bear children for themselves or for others,

02:00while benefiting those who never had the option to begin with.

02:02This, if I open up,

02:04if they want to do this thing, they should be responsible for the women's body.

02:06So I think that's it.

02:07I have their own choice, but if they want to open it to them,

02:10it will become that way for men's preference for them to become more open.

02:14It will become that they have the desire to go abroad,

02:16and it will be more open for them to go abroad.

02:20I think it's okay, because that's their decision.

02:23And they don't necessarily mean that they don't have a good job,

02:27but they don't want to be a good husband or mother.

02:29The proposed amendment still needs legislative approval.

02:41If passed, it could not only help boost a country's birth rate,

02:44but also give more people the chance to build a family.

02:48Chris Ma and Irene Lin for Taiwan Plus.

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