According to the proposal, to qualify to become a surrogate mother one must be “a Taiwanese national, aged 20 and above, who has had a smooth pregnancy before.” Only “a husband and wife who cannot conceive because of health reasons” are allowed to engage the services of a surrogate mother.
According to Wu Shiow-ing, deputy director-general of the BHP, the broad contours of the bill were outlined in 2004, when it was decided that the practice of surrogate motherhood would be “permitted with restrictions.”
Since 2004, the DOH has had 18 meetings on the topic. It will soon hold its last expert meeting, after which the department will send the proposals to its legal affairs unit for review.
The phrase “with restrictions” means that only legally married husbands and wives will be allowed to hire a surrogate mother. The husband and wife must both “have reproductive cells”; and such a couple will be entitled to seek the help of a surrogate mother only when the wife “is unable to become pregnant because of uterine conditions or other health reasons.”
The proposal states that a surrogate mother cannot be compensated for her services.
It addresses possible legal ramifications as well. It says that the parents of the child born will be the couple that engages the service of the surrogate mother. In this regard, surrogate motherhood laws will not be bound by current laws which state that the “birth mother” is the mother of the child.
Lin Chih-chieh, assistant professor at the National Chiao Tung University Institute of Technology Law, criticized the bill for allowing only a “husband and wife” to hire a surrogate mother. In excluding singles and homosexuals, the proposal is “too restrictive.”
Other scholars noted it is not advisable to limit the pool of potential surrogate mothers to Taiwanese nationals. Foreign women should be allowed to become surrogate mothers as well, they said.
In the view of the BHP, however, the legal issues involved would become much more complicated if foreigners were also allowed to become surrogate mothers. The department is thus inclined to let the proposal stand as it is. (HZW)