The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said that it would propose an amendment to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法) that would allow single women, unmarried couples and lesbian couples to access assisted reproductive procedures, while adding that the government should subsidize women who choose to have their eggs frozen.
“The act has limited access to assisted reproductive procedures to married heterosexual couples, but it should apply to unmarried couples, single women and lesbian couples as well. The procedures are technically feasible and have a higher success rate, and they would help raise the nation’s declining birthrate in the short term,” said KMT legislator-elect Chen Ching-hui (陳菁徽), who is also a fertility specialist.
“We hope the different political parties would pass the part of the amendment that they agree on and host public hearings on some of the controversial issues, such as whether surrogacy should be allowed in Taiwan,” she said.
Photo: Shih Hsiao-kuang, Taipei Times
On average, a married woman in Taiwan has about 1.5 children, Chen said, adding that the government should offer public daycare facilities and other incentives for them to have more.
The birthrate among unmarried women remains low, which in turn lowers the nation’s overall birthrate, she said.
Studies have also shown that the average age of a woman first getting married is 31, compared with 27 two decades ago, she said, adding that 43 percent of women in Taiwan aged 25 to 40 are not married.
Only 25 percent of the women would get married if they become pregnant, down from about 50 percent six to seven years ago, studies show.
“The government should allow unmarried women to access oocyte cryopreservation, so that they maintain the choice for childbirth when they are in their 40s,” Chen said.
Critics said that the subsidies for oocyte cryopreservation would see women further postpone childbirth.
“What we are seeing now is that many married couples have already chosen not to have children, without government subsidies for oocyte cryopreservation,” Chen said.
“We are also seeing increasingly more women choosing to devote the peak time of their child-bearing years to their careers and education, which is an irreversible global trend,” she said.
Women in their 40s have a 5 percent chance of getting pregnant through natural conception, while the chance would be increased to 20 percent through in vitro fertilization, she said.
The pregnancy rate for women who undergo oocyte cryopreservation could reach 60 to 70 percent, she said, adding that they could have one or multiple children at a time.
Chen said there exists an enormous information gap between those who are for and those who are against surrogacy, judging from comments on social media.
An online poll she created showed 45 percent of respondents supported the policy if it has clear regulations, while 40 percent said they opposed it, Chen said.
“At the first stage, we would ensure that the amendment of the act covers all women who want to have children through assisted reproductive procedures. We will continue to have dialogue with the public over controversial issues and hopefully reach a consensus,” she 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 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS