TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Thursday (Sept. 7) voiced his support for legal euthanasia and surrogate pregnancy, two medical practices that remain banned in Taiwan.

Ko made the remarks at a press conference on Thursday to discuss his campaign’s policies on healthcare. Ko said that he has long supported both medical treatments, and he personally can not understand why anyone would oppose them, reported Yahoo News.

While he acknowledged that euthanasia is controversial for some people, he said that politics is a process of persuasion. “If you think a policy position is correct, then you should push it forward, and try to persuade others,” he said.

Referencing his decades of work as a surgeon, he said that, unlike most people, he saw people on the brink of life and death every day. Although those who seek assisted suicide are a small minority of people suffering in difficult situations, Ko asked, “Shouldn’t that minority have their rights protected?”

As for Taiwan’s ban on surrogate mothers, Ko said that from his perspective as a medical professional, he has been a supporter of revising Taiwan’s law since he first learned about the process of in vitro fertilization. Ko noted it was strange that a bill to legalize surrogacy has been held up at the Legislative Yuan for 19 years.

Ko argued that if people want to have children but are physically unable to, they should have the right to seek out a surrogate mother. “Why should they be deprived of that right?” he asked.

Ko said that he has discussed these two items with various political leaders and groups in civil society. He said that support for these issues did not violate his personal philosophy and that as a political leader, he feels it is the right thing to do to make his support public for the rights of people seeking these medical treatments.

In 2021, Taiwan passed the “Patient Right to Autonomy Act,” which states that patients have the right to fully understand their diagnosis and treatment options, as well as the right to refuse life-sustaining treatments if they choose to do so.

While surrogacy remains illegal within Taiwan, many parents often opt to become parents through groups that help them arrange a surrogate mother overseas. This practice has increased since same-sex marriage was legalized in Taiwan in 2019.

Several attempts to change the law have been made over the years, with the most recent in 2017. However, strong opposition from religious organizations and women’s and children’s rights advocacy groups remain obstacles to legalizing surrogate pregnancies in the country.