A survey of judicial decisions concerning surrogacy disputes in Taiwan

Abstract

Objective: Currently, Taiwan's Artificial Reproduction Act denies the legality of practicing surrogacy in Taiwan. The fact that numerous intended parents access surrogacy through fertility tourism or illegal practice leads to various types of disputes. This article illustrates the types of surrogacy-related disputes in Taiwan's legal environment, which lacks all regulation of surrogacy. Materials and Methods: This study used "surrogacy" and "surrogate mother" as keywords to search for related district court civil and criminal decisions in the Law and Regulations Retrieving System maintained by the Judicial Yuan of the Republic of China. The authors read and selected decisions with true relevance to surrogacy issues, analyzed all cases, and categorized the cases according to the various types of disputes. Results: This study found 27 surrogacy cases with 62 decisions and 2 records, which were categorized into five types: 1. Fraud and forging instruments (5 cases); 2. Contract disputes (2 cases); 3. Loss of consortium and adultery (5 cases); 4. Paternity and adoption issues (16 cases); and 5. Broker and medical institution's responsibility (5 cases). Conclusion: Many patients in Taiwan are eager to access surrogacy, but the law does not allow it. Many disputes occur simply because the law forbids surrogacy. In Taiwan's current situation, some intended parents attempt fraudulent access to surrogacy. The authors of this article urge the Taiwanese government to legalize surrogacy to resolve intended parents' difficulties and avoid numerous possible disputes. (C) 2018 Taiwan Association of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V.