The debate over whether Taiwan's liberal laws on abortion should be amended to impose a compulsory waiting period for women seeking abortions was originally scheduled to be debated yesterday at the legislature, with three competing versions of an amendment to the ninth statute of the Genetic Health Law (優生保健法).
The meeting however was canceled due to a lack of legislators.
The version of the amendment sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Li-huan (楊麗環) and others emphasizes "family values," "the fetus' right to life" and abstinence-only sex-education for young people.
An amendment sponsored by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Tai-hua (
Both amendments support a six-day waiting period for those seeking abortions, after an initial consultation with a counselor.
The third amendment, spon-sored by DPP Legislator Huang Sue-ying, (黃淑英) however, does not include a waiting period, but would create an insurance fund to help women cover some of the costs related to abortions.
Yang, the only amendment sponsor to attend the legislature's Health, Environment and Social Welfare Committee meeting yesterday, said she and Lin supported each other's amendments.
"We agree on the importance of the sanctity of life," Yang said. "But my amendment focuses more on teaching young people early on the importance of maintaining their chastity, for both men and women."
Huang, however, attacked the other two amendments for "disre-specting" a woman's autonomy.
"If religious groups want to spread their values, they should prosyletize, not force the rest of us to go along with their morals by pushing through legislation," said Huang of Yang's amendment, which she said was colored by religious beliefs.
Huang also had harsh words for Lin's amendment, which mentioned low birth rates as a pressing problem for Taiwan while recommending a six-day waiting period.
"We should not be manipulating female bodies every time we need to raise or lower the population," said Huang, adding that abortion was originally legalized in Taiwan with a view of encouraging a lower birth rate, although birthrates started to decline before the law went into effect.
"The real reason that women are not willing to have kids is that the burden on them is too great. You see this in all countries with traditional Confucian values ... The solution is greater gender equality and more social support," Huang said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and