Under the Civil Code, Part IV (Family), Articles 1063-1067, paternity is determined by:
(a) The birth mother, who is automatically the legal mother (Article 1063).
(b) The husband of the mother at conception or birth is presumed the legal father (Article 1063). Paternity outside marriage requires acknowledgment or judicial proof (Article 1065).
The Artificial Reproduction Act 2007 (amended 2021), Article 13, assigns paternity to the husband in regulated ART with donor sperm, excluding clinical donors. Informal donors are not covered and risk paternity if proven outside this framework.
Assisted Reproduction:
Taiwan regulates ART under the Artificial Reproduction Act 2007, permitting sperm donation in licensed facilities for married heterosexual couples only (Article 7). Single women gained access in 2021 amendments, but donor sperm is restricted to clinical settings.
Informal sperm donation is not recognized and is effectively prohibited outside regulated ART. Donors lack legal protections against paternity claims if biological ties are proven outside clinical settings.
Same-sex couples have no legal access to ART despite marriage equality (2019); informal donation is rare due to legal and cultural barriers.
Sperm Donor Agreements:
Clinical donors are protected from paternity under the Artificial Reproduction Act (Article 13), but informal agreements lack a legal framework. Contracts outside regulated ART are unenforceable under the Civil Code, and donors risk paternity if acknowledged or proven (Article 1065).
For NI or informal AI, the donor could be deemed the legal father if paternity is established judicially, lacking statutory protection.
Surrogacy:
Surrogacy is permitted under the Artificial Reproduction Act (Articles 19-22) for married couples, with intended parents recognized as legal parents. Informal surrogacy defaults to the birth mother as legal mother (Article 1063).
Commercial surrogacy is banned (Article 6), and international arrangements require legal proceedings for recognition.
Parentage Agreements:
Parentage is formalized through marriage, ART regulations, or birth registration (Civil Code, Articles 1063-1067). Informal agreements lack enforceability unless judicially recognized (Article 1065).
Courts may establish paternity based on biology or acknowledgment, overriding informal agreements if disputes arise.