Cabinet seeks to expand assisted reproduction eligibility

Taipei, Dec. 11 (CNA) The Cabinet on Thursday unveiled a draft amendment to the Assisted Reproduction Act that aims to extend access to assisted reproduction from infertile heterosexual couples to single women and married lesbian couples.

Under the proposals drafted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, single women and lesbian couples would be granted access to assisted reproductive technology (ART).

Taiwanese nationals with household registration who reside in the country are eligible. In addition, married lesbian couples where one partner is a foreign national would also have access and either woman could be the birth mother, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said.

The women must also have eggs that have been clinically verified as healthy to qualify and be able to carry the fetus in their own womb, meaning surrogacy is not permitted, the HPA said.

Women over 45 years old would undergo a health assessment to demonstrate they are physically able to cope with pregnancy and childbirth. HPA head Shen Ching-fen (沈靜芬) said at a Cabinet news briefing on Thursday that this requirement is intended to protect both expectant mothers and their babies.

One proposal would allow children born through assisted reproduction, or their legal representatives, to access basic information about the sperm donor. They may also request the donor's contact information from the ministry if the child is diagnosed with a major congenital disease or requires an organ transplant.

Children can also obtain basic donor information, such as height, blood type, race and nationality, and may request more details after turning 18 with the donor's consent, according to the proposal.

The proposed law revisions are "based on the fundamental principle of respecting women's reproductive autonomy," Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) quoted Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君), who presided over a Cabinet meeting earlier on Thursday, as saying at the briefing.

The draft amendment will now be submitted to the Legislature for review.