– Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

In 2025, Greece banned single individuals

or male same-sex couples from seeking surrogacy.

Italy has even legislated severe penalties for pursuing surrogacy abroad.

However, in 2024, Ireland is also leaning towards legalizing surrogacy.

When a third party helps with pregnancy and childbirth,

is it really appropriate?

Or, to avoid the commodification of the uterus,

should it not even be discussed?

But with nearly 30 years of debate,

what are the views of various sectors?

Ah-Mo is the child Zou Zonghan and his same-sex partner had through surrogacy in the United States.

透過代孕生下的孩子

After four years

and a change of surrogate mother, they finally succeeded.

The surrogacy process was very lengthy.

We actually asked ourselves

and kept being asked by others,

why we wanted to have children.

During the failed attempts in the surrogacy process,

you also ask yourself again,

do I really want to have children?

Zou Zonghan once publicly shared on social media

his journey and experiences seeking surrogacy.

But instead, he faced criticism from many netizens.

After a failure, they also

had deep talks about their initial reasons for wanting children.

It's like you have many trains in life

heading to different destinations

in different directions.

And we hope that our life's

destination and direction include having children.

Cindy is another person who chose the path of surrogacy.

Because she almost died giving birth to her first child.

On the third day after giving birth to my first child,

when I was about to be discharged,

I suddenly developed bacteremia, which means

bacteria had spread throughout my body via the bloodstream.

At that moment, I really felt hopeless.

The trauma from that delivery

made Cindy lose the courage to get pregnant again.

Until her American doctor suggested that

if she still wanted children,

surrogacy might be an option.

I still thought about it for about a year

because I had all kinds of worries.

I didn't believe there was another person in the world

who would love my child as much as I do.

You have to learn to trust.

They both fulfilled their dreams of becoming parents

in the United States.

Typically, one must first go through clinic consultations,

surrogate matching, sperm and egg retrieval, surrogate pregnancy,

and the delivery process.

However, not every artificial insemination is successful.

This process may need to be repeated.

And may ultimately fail.

There are no official statistics on those seeking surrogacy in Taiwan.

But since 2019,

the Taiwan LGBT Rights Advocacy Association

has received about 1,600 inquiries related to surrogacy.

From my own observation,

only about 30 to 40 percent of those

have completed surrogacy in the last five or six years.

Because there is a big challenge,

which is due to the pandemic.

The entire surrogacy process has definitely been halted.

The lack of transparency in overseas surrogacy information

has led many commissioning parents into difficulties.

For example, Thailand banned foreigners from pursuing surrogacy

as early as 2015.

But many Taiwanese are still unaware and sign contracts.

When this demand is not eliminated,

it will only go underground.

They may go through arranged marriages

or find willing women,

pay them a sum of money, and then

proceed without any safeguards.

By using illegal surrogacy methods,

the rights of the surrogate are left unclear,

and it may also lead to the child not being able to be brought back to Taiwan.

In May 2024, the Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Executive Yuan announced

draft amendments to the Artificial Reproduction Act.

The most noteworthy content is undoubtedly the

surrogacy reproductive system,

including the conditional opening of surrogate mothers

under the principle of mutual assistance,

without collecting compensation or benefits other than legally prescribed fees.

It is also limited to married couples or same-sex partners.

Single individuals are not allowed to seek surrogacy.

And at least one spouse or same-sex partner

must have household registration in our country.

Surrogate mothers must also meet certain qualifications,

including having household registration in Taiwan,

being at least 20 years old but under 40 years old,

having experience of full-term pregnancy and childbirth,

and being able to surrogate only once.

However, opinions are still divided on whether Taiwan is suitable for promoting legal surrogacy.

各方質疑從未停止過

The Awakening Foundation believes that

reproductive rights refer to

the freedom to decide whether or not to have children.

But surrogacy involves another person's body,

and should be re-examined.

In international law, there is no such thing as a right

to have a child.

Whether you can have a biological child

should not be the biggest consideration

in the system.

It is also necessary to consider

whether women will be subject to economic or

family pressures and other external factors,

and become surrogate mothers involuntarily.

We must think about the most vulnerable people

or those in the most difficult circumstances

within this cultural context.

What kind of difficulties will they face?

How should our system respond to them?

Instead of saying

that because you have been given information,

everything else is your own choice.

In Europe, many countries are influenced by Christian culture

and traditional ethical concepts.

They hold an opposing stance on surrogacy,

and even use criminal law to prohibit it.

In France, the law stipulates that

all contracts related to surrogacy are invalid.

If someone helps to arrange surrogacy,

it may also constitute a criminal offense.

In Germany, performing artificial insemination on a surrogate mother

or implanting an embryo

may face imprisonment of up to 3 years.

Italy, on the other hand, passed a law in 2004

that prohibits all forms of surrogacy.

禁止一切形式的代孕

In comparison,

California in the United States has an open attitude towards commercial surrogacy.

For example, there are no restrictions on surrogate mother fees,

nor are there restrictions on commissioning parents having to be U.S. citizens.

As soon as the child is born, they can have

legal parent-child relationship with the commissioning parents.

This has also made California in the United States

the top choice for many people seeking surrogacy.

There are also specialized operators

holding information sessions in Taiwan.

Whether it's Australia or the United States,

some research reports have pointed out that

those who become surrogate mothers

are mostly between 20 and 30 years old,

Caucasian,

and many (surrogates) are highly educated.

What we originally expected,

illegal immigrants, exploited people,

that kind of image of someone becoming a surrogate mother,

I think there's quite a difference.

To protect the rights of surrogates,

New York State also passed in 2021

the strictest surrogacy human rights clause in the United States.

Including lawyer consultations, bodily autonomy,

prenatal checkups and insurance are all explicitly protected.

From our legal analysis,

regarding the surrogate mother's

prior consent or

legal protection,

and mental and physical regulations,

there are actually some regulations.

Whether these are comprehensive or not,

I think it's open for discussion.

In terms of regulations,

altruistic surrogacy in the UK and Australia is another option.

The UK did not adopt a contract system when legislating,

but rather a mutual agreement,

where there is no employer-employee relationship between the parties.

The surrogate is the legal mother.

Within six weeks of the child's birth,

she can unconditionally withdraw

and retain greater autonomy.

The commissioning parents also do not have the

right to command and supervise.

It can also give them a better opportunity to be grateful

and feel that

you have really done something

very great for me

and I'm really grateful,

instead of feeling like it's a matter of course.

This is a service I should get because I paid for it.

In 2023, the UK Law Commission

made further reform recommendations,

allowing the commissioning parents to have parental rights after the child is born,

but the surrogate mother still has the opportunity to withdraw

and specifying reasonable pregnancy and childbirth expenses

and the surrogate mother's personal insurance expenses.

Although Taiwan is conceptually altruistic as well,

the main regulation is based on contracts between the two parties.

The UK can move towards

a more convenient approach

because they already have 40 years of experience.

There are now at least four NGOs

that are very experienced and can assist

surrogates and commissioning parents in negotiating.

Overseas experience has shown that

for a surrogacy to be a good experience,

it's not just about having very detailed contracts in the beginning.

If something goes wrong during the process,

whether there are good ways to handle it that can

allow both parties to be on the same boat.

Lily is Taiwanese,

married to an American military husband.

She currently lives in the United States with her husband and two children.

After learning about other people's experiences on online forums,

she proactively contacted an agency wanting to become a surrogate mother.

I can help infertile families

or same-sex families

to have their own children

and complete a family.

It's a very honorable and happy thing,

so I really wanted to do it.

Although Lily also received compensation,

after deducting the costs of pregnancy and childbirth,

she estimates that the money she received

is about $50,000 USD,

which is about the same as her delivery salary in the United States.

It's not just about being exploited as people say.

Or only people from the bottom would do it.

Or as people say, doing it only for the money.

It's not entirely what you think.

That's why some people are willing to do surrogacy.

But this surrogacy journey is not without risks.

Lily experienced severe bleeding during delivery.

It was either a hysterectomy or death,

it was a choice between the two.

Childbirth is inherently risky.

The reason I wasn't so afraid

is actually because

I'm now in a major hospital.

So I trust the medical team very much.

A study by the University of London points out that

most British surrogates and commissioning parents

maintain good relationships.

Even the children know

that they were born through surrogacy.

The two families are more like partners,

making the surrogate's experience more positive.

Even with egg and sperm donation,

many parents

are actually unwilling to let their children know.

In the future, these commissioning couples,

whether they can truly treat

the surrogate as a partner,

will also test Taiwan's

culture of parental rights.

However, Taiwan has already reached the stage of draft discussions.

Whether the current system design

can really protect surrogate mothers

is still insufficient according to the Taiwan LGBT Rights Advocacy Association.

Many women who are currently pregnant

are easily denied insurance.

In this situation,

how can surrogate mothers obtain

the medical insurance coverage they deserve?

This needs to be further considered.

Third, we believe that intermediary agencies,

that is, the units that provide surrogacy matching services,

cannot become the white gloves of medical units.

If a dispute really occurs,

whether Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare can take on

the management responsibility is also a key consideration.

The problems it will face are different from the problems the Health Promotion Administration has encountered in the past.

所遇到的問題不太一樣

The problems will not be caused by medical personnel,

nor are they problems of medical technology

or qualifications,

but rather the minor

relationship issues

that may arise.

Another hypothesis we have is that

we want to protect women, or we want to activate

women's unwise choices or your self-commodification choices.

But is this really valid?

Aren't we improving our status, whether it's gender or gender equality, in Taiwan's education?

And we are organizing personnel through various means, and also through various

educational expertise. Perhaps do we think all of this is empty?

Lily doesn't feel interfered with,

maintaining appropriate contact with the commissioning party in her life,

sharing prenatal checkup status and fetal movements.

She also received from them after childbirth

regular photos and videos of the child.

[Chinese]

2025年 希臘禁止單身

或男性同志伴侶尋求代孕

義大利更立法重罰在海外代孕

但2024年愛爾蘭也傾向開放代孕

由第三方幫忙懷孕生子

到底合不合適

或者為了避免子宮商品化

根本不該討論

但爭議將近30年

究竟各界怎麼看

阿陌是鄒宗翰跟同志伴侶到美國

透過代孕生下的孩子

歷經四年

換過孕母才成功

代孕的過程拉很長

我們其實會自問

跟被別人一直問說

你為什麼要有小孩

代孕的過程當中失敗的時候

你也會再問自己說

我真的有要小孩

鄒宗翰曾在社群公開發表

尋求代孕的歷程與心得

但反而遭到不少網友批評

也曾在失敗後

彼此深談想要孩子的初衷

這就很像你人生有很多台的列車

他開往不同的目的地

不同的方向

那我們希望我們的人生的這個

目的地跟方向是有孩子的

另一位選擇走上代孕之路的是Cindy

因為生第一胎時差點喪命

我在生完大寶之後的第三天

本來要出院了

突然菌血症病發 也就是說

細菌已經透過血液跑到全身各處

我當下真的是萬念俱灰

那次的生產陰影

讓Cindy失去再次懷孕的勇氣

直到她的美國醫師建議

若還想要孩子

代孕也許是選項

我仍然想了大概有一整年

因為我有各種的擔憂

我又不相信這個世界上有另外一個人

會像我一樣愛護我的小孩

你必須要學會去信任

他們都是在美國

才圓了當爸媽的夢

通常要先經歷診所諮詢

孕母配對 取精取卵 孕母懷孕

生產的過程

但並非每次人工受孕都能成功

這樣的流程可能需要反覆進行

最後也可能失敗

台灣沒有正式的尋求代孕者統計

但2019年至今

台灣同志家庭權益促進會

接代孕相關諮詢約1600人次

就我自己目前的觀察

應該只有三 四成的夥伴是在這

是在這五六年間完成代孕的

因為有個很大的挑戰

是因為疫情的關係

整個代孕的流程一定是停下來的

海外代孕資訊不透明

導致許多代孕委託者陷入困境

像是泰國早在2015年

就禁止外國人進行代孕

但仍然有許多台灣人不知情簽下契約

當這個需求不被消失

他只會走向地下化

他可能透過協議結婚

或者是說找願意的女性

付他一筆錢之後

在沒有任何保障的狀況之下去進行

他透過非法代孕的方式

反而導致代孕者的權益不明朗

也導致了孩子有可能帶不回台灣

2024年5月 行政院衛生福利部公告

人工生殖法修正草案

內容最引人注目的無疑是

代孕生殖制度

包括有條件開放代理孕母

互助原則下

不收取法定費用以外的報酬或利益

也只限夫妻或同性伴侶

不開放單身尋找代孕

且配偶或同性伴侶至少一方

必須有我國戶籍

而代理孕母也必須符合一定資格

包含在台灣設有戶籍

年滿20歲 但未滿40歲

有足月懷胎生產經驗

只能代孕一次

不過對於台灣是否適合推動代孕合法

各方質疑從未停止過

婦女新知基金會認為

生育權指的是

自己是否要生育的自由

但代孕牽涉到另一個人的身體

應該重新審視

在國際法裡面是沒有一個權利

叫做擁有小孩的權利

你能不能夠有血緣小孩這件事情

就不會是制度上面

必須要做最大的考慮

另外也必須考慮

女性是否會受到經濟或是

家庭壓力等外部因素

非自願地成為代理孕母

我們必須要去思考到最弱勢的人

或是在這個文化處境裡面

最困難的人那群人

他會面臨到什麼樣的困境

我們制度應該要怎麼樣回應他

而不是說

因為你已經資訊給他了

其他都是他自己的選擇

在歐洲 不少國家受到基督教文化

與傳統倫理觀念影響

對於代孕持反對立場

甚至用刑法來禁止

在法國 法律規定

所有關於代孕的契約不具效力

如果有人幫忙介紹代孕

也可能構成刑事犯罪

在德國 為代理孕母進行人工授精

或胚胎植入的行為

可能面臨3年以下的徒刑

而義大利則是在2004年

通過一項法律

禁止一切形式的代孕

相較之下

美國加州的商業代孕態度開放

像是不限制代理孕母收費

也不限制委託人一定要是美國公民

孩子一出生就能與委託父母

具備法律上的親子關係

這也讓美國加州成為

許多人尋求代孕的首選

也有專門經營的業者

在台灣辦說明會

不管是澳洲也好 或是美國

在一些研究報告裡面就指出說

這些成為代理育母的人

他其實他是以20歲到30歲

然後白種人

(孕母)高等教育人士不在少數

原本我們預期中

非法移民 被剝削的人

就是他成為代理孕母那個樣態

我覺得是有相當差距的

為了保障代孕者權益

紐約州2021年也通過

全美最嚴格的代孕者人權條款

像是律師諮詢 身體自主權

產檢與保險 全都明文保障

站在我們法律的分析來講的話

對於代理孕母的

事前同意權或者是說

法律面的保障

身心規範的東西

其實是有一些規範的

那這些周不周全

我覺得可以討論

在法規上

英國跟澳洲的利他代孕是另一種選擇

英國在立法時不是採取契約制

而是雙方協議

彼此間不是僱傭關係

代孕者是法律上的母親

子女出生後六週內

可以無條件反悔

保有更大的自主權

委託者也就沒有那個

指揮監督的權利

也可以讓他比較有那個感激的機會

然後會覺得說

你真的是幫我做了一個

非常偉大的事情

然後真的很感激

而不是覺得理所當然

這是我付錢應該得到的服務

2023年英國法律委員會

再做出改革建議

讓孩子出生後的親權屬於委託者

但孕母仍有機會反悔

並且明定合理的孕產費用

孕母的人身保險費用

臺灣雖然概念上也是利他

但雙方以契約作為主要規範

英國可以走到這樣

一個比較簡便的方式

是因為他們已經有40年的經驗

現在至少有四個NGO

是很有經驗然後可以去協助

代孕者跟委託者去協商

國外的經驗就發現說

一個代孕要有好的經驗

不是只是你前面的契約定的很細

這過程萬一發生了什麼問題

有沒有好的處理方式是能夠

讓雙方可以站在同一條船上

Lily是台灣人

嫁給美國軍人的先生

目前跟先生及兩個孩子在美國生活

她從網路社團上得知其他人的經驗後

主動聯絡仲介想成為代理孕母

可以幫助人家不孕的家庭

或是同性家庭

他們能有自己的小孩

完成一個家

是一個很榮幸很開心的事情

所以我很想去做

雖然 Lily也有獲得報酬

扣除孕產所需費用

但她估算獲得的錢

大約是五萬美元

與她在美國做外送的薪水差不多

他不是只有人家說的去被剝削

或者是只有底層才會去做的事情

或是人家都說為了錢才去做

其實不全然都是你們所想的那樣子

才會有人願意去做代孕

但這段代孕旅程也不是全無風險

Lily在生產時就曾經大出血

不是摘子宮就是可能會死嘛

就是二選一嘛

生產本來就是有風險

我沒有那麼害怕的原因

其實也是因為

我現在是在一個大醫院

所以我是很相信醫療團隊

英國倫敦大學研究指出

多數英國的代孕者跟委託者之間

還維持良好的關係

甚至小孩也知道

自己是代孕出生的

兩個家庭間更像是合作關係

讓代孕者的經驗更為正向

我們連在捐贈精卵這件事情

都有很多父母親

其實是不願意讓孩子知道

在將來這些委託的夫妻

他們能不能真的把

代孕者當成一個夥伴一樣

這個也會考驗臺灣的

這種親權的文化

然而 台灣已經走到了草案的討論

目前的制度設計

是否真的能保護孕母

同家會認為還是不夠

很多現行之下懷孕的女性

都很容易被拒保

那在這樣的狀況之下

代孕者如何得到

應有的醫療險的保障

這是必須要去進一步思考

第三個我們認為居間機構

也就是做代孕服務媒合這些單位

他不能夠淪為醫療單位的白手套

如果真的發生爭議

臺灣衛福部是否能擔起

管理責任也是考量重點

它會出的問題跟過去國健署

所遇到的問題不太一樣

會出問題的不是那些醫事人員

而且它也不是醫療的技術

或資格的問題

而是一些生活上面大大小小的

關係上面一些大大小小

可能出現的那些問題

我們另外一個假設是認為

我們要去保護女性 或是我們要啟動

女性的不聰明選擇 或是你自我商品化的選擇

可是這個這個真的是成立嗎？

我們不是 就是在臺灣的教育裡面提升我們的 而不管是性別或是兩性的地位

而且我們是透過各種法子在組織人事 也透過各種

教育的專業知識 也許當我們認為這些一切都是空的嗎？

Lily不會感覺自己被干涉

生活中與委託方保持適當聯繫

分享產檢狀況與胎兒動靜

也在產後收到對方

定期傳來的孩子照片與影片

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
surrogacy /ˈsɜːrəɡəsi/ C1	noun - the process of a woman giving birth to a baby for another person or couple
legislation /ˌledʒɪsˈleɪʃn/ B2	noun - a law or set of laws passed by a government
controversy /ˈkɒn.trə.vɜː.si/ C1	noun - public disagreement or debate about something important
consultation /ˌkɒn.sʌlˈteɪ.ʃən/ B2	noun - meeting to discuss or seek advice about something
challenge /ˈtʃæl.ɪndʒ/ B2	noun - something difficult that requires effort
protection /prəˈtɛk.ʃən/ B1	noun - the act of keeping someone or something safe
dispute /dɪˈspjuːt/ B2	noun - an argument or disagreement
insurance /ɪnˈʃʊərəns/ B2	noun - arrangement by which one pays for protection against possible loss or damage
dignity /ˈdɪɡ.nə.ti/ B2	noun - the state of having respect and honor
contract /ˈkɒn.trækt/ B1	noun - a written or spoken agreement between people
compensation /ˌkɒm.penˈseɪ.ʃən/ B2	noun - payment given for work, loss, or damage
procedure /prəˈsiː.dʒə/ B2	noun - a series of steps taken to achieve something
experience /ɪkˈspɪə.ri.əns/ A2	noun - knowledge or skill gained by doing something
motivation /ˌmoʊ.tɪˈveɪ.ʃən/ B2	noun - the reason for doing something
risk /rɪsk/ B1	noun - possibility of danger or loss
autonomy /ɔːˈtɒn.ə.mi/ C1	noun - the right or condition of self-government
implement /ˈɪm.plə.ment/ B2	verb - to put something into effect

Key Grammar Structures

• 2025年 希臘禁止單身 或男性同志伴侶尋求代孕

  ➔ Present Simple with future time marker

  ➔ The sentence uses the present simple tense ('禁止') with a future time marker ('2025年') to describe a future regulation.

• 但2024年愛爾蘭也傾向開放代孕

  ➔ Present Simple with 'also' for contrast

  ➔ The sentence uses the present simple tense ('傾向開放') with '也' to contrast with previous information.

• 我們其實會自問 跟被別人一直問說

  ➔ Present Continuous Passive

  ➔ The sentence uses the present continuous passive ('被別人一直問說') to describe an ongoing action done by others.

• 這就很像你人生有很多台的列車

  ➔ Simile with '像'

  ➔ The sentence uses a simile ('像') to compare life to multiple trains.

• 我又不相信這個世界上有另外一個人

  ➔ Present Simple Negative

  ➔ The sentence uses the present simple negative ('不相信') to express disbelief.

• 你必須要學會去信任

  ➔ Modal Verb 'must'

  ➔ The sentence uses the modal verb '必須' to express necessity.

• 在歐洲 不少國家受到基督教文化

  ➔ Present Simple Passive

  ➔ The sentence uses the present simple passive ('受到') to describe an action done to the subject.

• 如果真的發生爭議

  ➔ Conditional Sentence Type 1

  ➔ The sentence uses a conditional structure ('如果...') to describe a possible situation and its consequence.

• 而不是覺得理所當然

  ➔ Adverbial Clause with '而不是'

  ➔ The sentence uses an adverbial clause ('而不是') to contrast two ideas.