Women’s rights groups are calling for a new bill that would compensate women for birth-related injuries. The new bill has been brought to the Legislature and has the support of both ruling and opposition lawmakers.
The purpose of the bill is to decrease conflict between doctors and women regarding birth-related injuries. The bill would have the government take on some of the burden of compensation in these cases.
Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Lin Shu-fen explained the purpose of the bill.
"We know that giving birth has its innate risks. We hope that through this legislation, the country can help take on the burden of these risks. In recent years, the birth rate has declined and this is a national problem," said Lin, "We also have a decreasing number of gynecologists and over-medication of the birth process. With all these problems, we need to have a system to help compensate."
DPP lawmaker Tien Chiu-chin said that plans to help deal with birth-related injuries set out by the health ministry in 2012 have been helpful. Tien said that the plan has led to a reduction in the number of disputes. But she said that the plan needs more financial resources in order to be effective in protecting women’s rights.
Health minister Chiang Been-huang says that he respects the bill, but details regarding the source of funds and the types of injuries to be compensated still need to be worked out.