An alliance of women's and religious groups have joined together to oppose legalizing the practice of surrogate motherhood in Taiwan. The alliance is pushing back against calls to lift a ban on the practice as the country's birthrate continues to fall.
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00:00Thirteen women's and religious groups have formed an alliance whose goals include keeping
00:05surrogacy or paying a woman to carry someone else's child illegal.
00:11Surrogate motherhood is currently banned in Taiwan, though it tolerates citizens hiring
00:15women as surrogates abroad.
00:17It's a practice that's especially popular with single women and same-sex couples who
00:22are not eligible for IVF treatment.
00:25Some groups are pushing to reverse that ban, but this new alliance wants it to remain,
00:30saying it exploits women's bodies.
00:34Some women who are economically disadvantaged are paying their children's bills for money.
00:41We think this is inappropriate.
00:46The debate over the issue shows a split not just in ethics, but in how to solve the problem
00:51of Taiwan's birth rate, among the lowest in the world.