Medical experts backed moves to reclassify the morning-after pill as over-the-counter medication yesterday, though women's groups expressed varied opinions.
"Past research has shown that the morning-after pill is a safe emergency contraceptive method. In order to allow women to promptly obtain the medication, the pill should be available over the counter so that they don't have to go to the doctor first and delay the [process]," Taipei Medical University Hospital gynecologist Liu Wei-min (
Liu said that the morning-after pill did not induce an abortion, but delayed ovulation, preventing sperm and ova from fertilizing in the womb.
"Taiwan is a country with a high abortion rate, and statistics have shown that countries which promote the use of the morning-after pill have a much lower abortion rate," Liu said.
"If the morning-after pill can be classified as over-the-counter medication, it should prevent more abortions from taking place," Liu said.
Liu was speaking during a public hearing held by Taiwan Solidarity Union whip Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) to discuss the ramifications of reclassifying the medication.
Lo said government statistics showed the birth rate of teenage girls aged 15 to 19 was 1.3 percent, the highest in Asia.
Although women's groups also expressed support for the promotion and use of the morning-after pill, most did not focus on the issue of over-the-counter availability.
"Condoms remain the primary contraceptive method we want to promote, but past polls have shown that 40 percent of teen-agers who are sexually active do not use them during sexual intercourse," said Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容), director of the Garden of Hope Foundation.
"If teenagers do not use condoms during sexual intercourse, it is necessary to promote the use of the morning-after pill to reduce the loss of new lives. The last thing we want to see is teenagers going through with an abortion," she said.
But Sue Huang (
"I fear that the promotion of the morning-after pill will result in teenagers becoming even less willing to use condoms. If they can think of contraceptive matters within 24 hours of having sex, why can't they do so 24 hours beforehand?" Huang said.
"And anyway, the safety of the pill is still in doubt. There is no research available on the effects of the pill for long-term users, and it's not clear that the pill doesn't harm teenagers," she said.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
RSS