Image source: Unsplash (@Winston Chen)
Legislative Background
Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare has been developing the amendment since 2020, convening more than 30 expert meetings and two public hearings involving specialists in child welfare, gender equality, law, and medicine. A draft was publicly announced in July 2024. Following Executive Yuan approval, the amendment will proceed to the legislature for further review.
The revision reflects changes in Taiwan's marriage and birth patterns, advances in reproductive medicine, and global legislative trends. The number of countries permitting female same-sex couples and unmarried women to access assisted reproduction services has grown from 33 in 2022 to 41 in 2025.
Three Key Areas of Amendment
1. Improving medical service quality. The amendment expands the authorized scope of regulations governing licensed assisted reproduction facilities, introduces informed consent procedures for surgical and invasive treatments, and strengthens management of reproductive cell donation and use, with provisions for rolling regulatory updates.
2. Protecting the best interests of children. The amendment introduces several new provisions: prospective recipients must undergo a pre-procedure assessment by a designated professional institution to evaluate the best interests of any child born through assisted reproduction; children born from donated reproductive cells are entitled to access non-identifying information such as the donor's blood type and nationality, with legally defined pathways to access identifying information in specified circumstances; and adults born through donation may obtain further information with the donor's consent. Legal provisions governing the parent-child relationship of children born through assisted reproduction are also revised to strengthen their legal standing.
3. Protecting women's reproductive health. The amendment permits married female same-sex couples and unmarried women to legally access assisted reproduction services, in accordance with Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). For women aged 45 and above, facilities are required to conduct a prior health assessment confirming suitability for pregnancy before providing services.
Asian Editorial Department: Lu Junxiu