TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The National Alliance of Women and Children Organization (全國婦兒團體聯盟) criticized proposed amendments to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法) on Thursday (Dec. 5), arguing they fail to prioritize children's best interests. The Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee (立法院社會福利及衛生環境委員會) reviewed the act on the same day, prompting the alliance's concerns.
The alliance highlighted weaknesses in the current drafts from the Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare (衛福部國健署), and a Kuomintang (國民黨) legislator, saying they inadequately address children's rights to know their genetic origins. They criticized the requirement for medical institutions to store donor information without including donor identities, which they claim strips children of their rights to understand their lineage, impacting identity and mental health.
Furthermore, the alliance pointed out significant gaps in the proposals by Democratic Progressive Party (民進黨) Legislators Ngalim Tiunn (張雅琳) and Fan Yun (范雲), particularly in identity and parental rights protections for children of single mothers or those born out of wedlock. They emphasized the need for stricter legal constraints on the birth registration and caregiving responsibilities of surrogate children, urging a comprehensive review of responsibility allocation in abandonment scenarios.
The alliance called for amendments to prioritize children's best interests, ensuring legal identity, genetic rights, and complete parental arrangements for assisted reproduction children. They warned against prioritizing the interests of adults seeking to have children, which could lead to more societal issues and legal disputes.