Article Annotation 4

Article Annotation 4

Does Unmarried Women Have The Right To Become Mother?

史倩玲. (May, 10, 2009). 單身女想當媽 盼政府放寬限制http://www.lihpao.com/?action-viewnews-itemid-8995 Lihpao news.

        The unmarried women should have the right to be a mother. The news (2009, reported on Lihpao news) talks about that unmarried women face the restriction which makes them unable to have their own babies. In the news, the director of the Awakening Foundation, which works for improving women’s right, points out that government should loosen the Artificial Reproduction Act.

According to the Artificial Reproduction Act (人工生殖法) (2007, released by The Legislative Yuan of Republic of China), now the technique of artificial insemination is only allowed to use on the married couple suffer from sterility(不孕症), and it is specific to the couple that involves a man and a woman. Therefore, other kinds of people such as homosexual couples, and also, the unmarried women who want to have her own babies, are excluded by the law.

It is not easy for unmarried women to be a mother in Taiwan. If they choose to be pregnant via artificial insemination, they need to spend a lot of money and go to other countries, because unmarried women are not allowed to use the technique of artificial insemination. However, even though they want to adopt a child, they will be estimated by the social workers from the adoption organization strictly, and finally they are still not allowed to adopt the child because they are unmarried. In this news (2009, reported on Lihpao news), there is a case mentions the difficulty for an unmarried woman to adopt a child. According to the civil law in Taiwan, there is no explicit regulation that singles cannot adopt the children. In this case, a lady wants to adopt a little girl; she is the girl’s aunt. She lives well and has stable income. Most important of all, she takes care of her niece since she’s little. However, the judge refuses her request to adopt the girl, because the lady doesn’t get married.

        Both of the ways seem not available for unmarried women who have the desire to be a mother. They are excluded by the law, and because their unmarried situation makes them have difficulty on adopting children. Why the unmarried women are deprived of the right to become a mother just because they don’t have a husband? They have enough love for the children, and also have the ability to make her children live in a good life.

        All in all, unmarried women’s right to become a mother should not be deprived. The law has its concern, but there must have some space for discussing. And the potential limit in adoption should be revised. Since there is no restriction in the civil law, the unmarried women, under the condition that they have enough ability, should be permitted to adopt the children through the legitimate process.