Discussions can build consensus on tough issues

ON FEB 8, Mao Qun'an, director general of the department of communications of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said after a few days of heated national debate, that surrogacy will not be made legal due to moral and social concerns. Beijing News commented on Thursday:

Surrogacy is still controversial, but the discussion should go on. Calls to make surrogacy legal have increased since the family planning policy was changed to allow all couples to have a second child. If the discussion was stopped only because of the sensitiveness of the issue, then problems such as the underground market to meet the demand are likely to become worse.

Even though the discussion hasn't made surrogacy any less controversial, it is important that the issue does not become taboo.