The ministry proposes changes to abortion penalties

CRIMINAL LAW UPDATE:
The level of fines for aborting a fetus outside what is permitted is ‘anachronistic’ and would be increased, the Justice Ministry said

• By Chung Li-hua and Esme Yeh / Staff Reporter, with Staff Writer

The Justice Ministry is set to propose changes to the Criminal Code that would increase fines for illegal abortions from NT$3,000 to NT$80,000 (US$2,498), calling the current penalties “anachronistic.”

The ministry would submit the bill to amend Articles 288 and 290 and repeal Article 292 of the Criminal Code within fourteen days, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Under the draft, the fine for pregnant women who abort a fetus would be increased from NT$3,000 to NT$80,000, while the fine for performing an abortion for profit would be increased from NT$15,000 to NT$500,000.

Photo: Chen Tse-ming, Taipei Times

Those who cause an abortion for profit at the request or consent of a pregnant woman would be fined NT$2 million, up from NT$15,000, if committing the crime results in her death, or NT$1 million, up from NT$15,000. NT$15,000 if serious injury occurs, it said.

Not all abortions are a crime, as pregnant women can still have an abortion under the Genetic Health Act (優生保健法) if her bodily autonomy and the fetus’s right to life are respected, the ministry said.

However, abortions should be limited as a fetus is “a living being that develops into a person,” whose right to life should not be deprived or violated, the report said, citing similar laws in Germany and Japan.

Other rules have been put in place to allow women to have an abortion under conditions consistent with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, it added.

Because illegal abortions can be performed in many ways, the constituent element stating that an abortion is performed “by taking drugs or in other ways” would be deleted, the ministry said.

The fines have become “anachronistic” and would be increased to align with the criminal code’s sentencing range, it added.

The penalty for pregnant women who cause her abortion or allow others to cause her abortion in situations necessitated by illness or life-threatening conditions – other than those specified in the Genetic Health Act – would be revised from ‘remission’ to ‘not punishable’ . it said.

Article 292, which stipulates penalties and punishments for advertising abortion, would be deleted, following the example of Germany.

The Medical Care Act (醫療法) sets rules for medical care advertisements, the report said.