Amendments to Taiwan abortion law could remove need for husband's consent

法律修正案擬允許台灣婦女在未經配偶同意的情況下墮胎

Women's groups and legislators say exceptions to Taiwan’s abortion laws disrespect women’s bodily autonomy


​​TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — New draft amendments to Taiwan's abortion laws should remove the requirement for married women to obtain spousal consent for an abortion, women's groups and legislators have argued.

In Taiwan, abortions are legal before the 24th week of pregnancy under most conditions, but there are two key exceptions. Within this period, women can access abortions when pregnancies are life-threatening, the result of rape, coercion, or incest, or likely to affect their mental health or family life.

The first exception to the law is minors must gain consent from their legal guardian. The second is that if the woman is married, she has to obtain the consent of her spouse to proceed with an abortion.

It is discriminatory that a woman needs consent from her husband to get an abortion, said NGOs focusing on gender equality, such as the Awakening Foundation.

According to the Awakening Foundation’s board supervisor Lin Shih-fang (林實芳), “The idea is that once you’re married, your body is not your own. The most important thing is the wholeness of the family, and your body belongs to your spouse. So your spouse should have the right to weigh in on whether or not you give birth.”

“But our stance is that this regulation is behind the times,” Lin said. “It completely disrespects women’s bodily autonomy.”

Abortion rights activists have become increasingly vocal after the justice ministry proposed increasing fines for illegal abortions in October. The ministry said the amendment would make the punishment consistent with other penalties in the Criminal Code.

However, after receiving feedback on the issue, the ministry rescinded the proposal in November. Women’s rights groups and legislators said if the justice ministry amends the law, it must comply with the spirit of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) said new draft amendments should remove the clause requiring spousal consent and the crime of abortion from the Criminal Code.

According to Lin, illegal abortions in Taiwan are extremely rare. From 2014 until now, only 10 abortion cases have been adjudicated in local courts, per judiciary records.