Can amending the Artificial Reproduction Law save the fertility rate? Doctors call for first opening up to singles and couples with women and girls to implement in stages
There were less than 100,000 births in the first three quarters of this year! Amend the Artificial Reproduction Law to save fertility rates?
Taiwan’s fertility rate is declining year by year. The number of newborns in 2022 is only 138,986, and there are less than 100,000 newborns in the first three quarters of this year. In order to increase people’s willingness to have children, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will expand in vitro fertilization subsidies for infertility from 2021. However, due to the current provisions of the Artificial Reproduction Law, in vitro fertilization is limited to heterosexual couples of one man and one woman, excluding single women and same-sex couples. Regarding reproductive rights, surrogacy is explicitly prohibited.
In response to concerns from all walks of life about the progress of the revision of the Artificial Reproduction Act, the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare recently stated at the Legislative Yuan Health and Environment Committee that the draft revision of the Artificial Reproduction Act has gradually taken shape. The main aspects of the revision include: allowing single women to use it and opening it to same-sex couples. , lift the ban on surrogate mothers, etc., and further protect the best rights of children. Xue Ruiyuan, director of the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare, pointed out that he hopes that the revision of the “Artificial Reproduction Law” will be completed in one step, but there are still different opinions from all walks of life, and he will continue to study and adjust to propose a more balanced version of the revision.
Why does the Artificial Reproduction Law not apply to singles and same-sex mothers and ban surrogate mothers?
Li Yiping, director of the Reproductive Medicine Center of Shin Kong Hospital, said in an exclusive interview with “healthorn” that Taiwan’s legal recipients of sperm donation are only limited to legal heterosexual couples. If single and unmarried women are willing to undergo in vitro fertilization, they usually go to the European Union or the United States through sperm bank matching. Artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization. The United States is also the country with the most complete surrogate mother regulations. Others, including Ukraine and Southeast Asia, also have legal surrogacy. However, considering the quality and safety of medical care, Taiwanese people still prefer surrogacy in the United States. However, the overall cost is not affordable and takes about five or five years. Six million.
Dr. Li Yiping pointed out that legal in vitro fertilization has been available to single women and lesbian couples for many years in the European Union and the United States. It is relatively easy to amend the law. However, surrogate motherhood involves the exploitation of women and issues of women’s autonomy. , it is difficult for all walks of life to reach a consensus quickly. From a clinical perspective, when the wife of a heterosexual couple is not suitable for pregnancy due to uterine injury, cancer, or adenomyosis, she must also borrow a uterus. As for the male partner who does not have a uterus due to physiological limitations, although there are comparisons The legal rights of husband and wife are also prohibited from legal artificial reproduction.
Dr. Li Yiping said that there are many countries with legal surrogacy in the world. For example, surrogacy mothers in the United States have developed a complete business model, and surrogates can receive millions of high nutrition subsidies. Other countries adopt the “donation model” and only provide small nutritional subsidies to surrogates. Opposition to surrogacy in Taiwan is partly due to concerns that women with financial difficulties will become targets of exploitation by wealthy people, especially as pregnancy and childbirth carry certain risks. In addition, Eastern societies are prone to human and ethical pressures, which may force women to lend their uteruses involuntarily. This is also one of the considerations that must be taken into consideration when revising the law.
Doesn’t heterosexual couples affect children’s development? Medical advice to amend the law can be implemented in stages
Will future revisions to the Artificial Reproduction Law affect children’s best rights? Dr. Li Yiping pointed out that in foreign countries, single women and lesbian couples have been able to legally carry out in vitro fertilization more than 20 years ago. In recent years, studies on children born and raised in lesbian or gay families have found that their sexual development, mental age and There is no difference in IQ performance between families with heterosexual couples. In contrast, many women have accepted the concept of freezing their eggs early, but according to current law, they still need to be legally married before they can thaw their eggs for artificial reproduction. The increase in maternal age will also increase the risks of pregnancy and childbirth, as well as subsequent upbringing issues. concerns, it may not be the best way to increase fertility.
Dr. Li Yiping said that as the times continue to advance, women are gradually treating “marriage” and “having children” independently, and the proportion of people getting married for the purpose of having children has decreased. Considering the medical evidence of infertility and the overall fertility rate, opening up single women, same-sex couples, and surrogate mothers all have positive benefits that can be referenced. If the amendment of the Artificial Reproduction Law cannot be completed in one step, it can also be considered to pass it in stages, first Including married lesbian couples and single women, and conducting more comprehensive discussions and supporting arrangements for gay male couples and surrogate mothers, is expected to further benefit artificial reproductive medicine for more couples who are willing to raise the next generation.
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