避「罪」之道？－從月經規則術引進看1970年代台灣墮胎史

戰後台灣禁止墮胎，至1984年《優生保健法》通過，方放寬墮胎的限制。早在1974年，便有婦產科醫師託詞懷孕六週內（即月經遲來兩週內）的驗孕誤差較大，於期限內施行月經規則術，或可規避墮胎罪。不過，在此之前，每年都有成千上萬次的墮胎發生，實際上僅有少數人獲罪。月經規則術引進台灣後，對墮胎罪判刑人數消長的影響亦不明顯。其最大貢獻，可能是讓婦產科醫師能堂而皇之地引介新技術以招睞婦女，比起過去在報上登小廣告正當許多，也創造更多的墮胎利潤。月經規則術的引進途徑，與樂普頗為類似。皆來自美國的國際人口組織贊助，透過民間管道引進的「節育」利器，在官方的合作或默許下進行。相較當時台灣的墮胎技術，月經規則術在效能上並無優越突出之處。換句話說，月經規則術並非客觀中立的技術，而是倚賴諸多有利的助力，才能在墮胎違法的環境下順遂發展。本文參考John Law對十五世紀葡萄牙海權擴張的分析架構，說明技術網絡建造者（technical network builder）如何在充斥敵意的社會情境中，聯結各種異質性的元素，如技術發明者、推廣技術的非營利國際人口組織、台灣的醫師社群、婦女、墮胎罪惡感、準確性較差的驗孕技術及法律，構築起月經規則術成功的技術網絡。月經規則術雖曾在台灣大受歡迎，近年來卻有走下坡之勢。該如何解讀此現象？是本文最後嘗試回答的問題。

關鍵字

月經規則術；優生保健法；墮胎技術；驗孕；婦女健康運動

並列摘要

Abortion wasn't legal in Taiwan until the Genetic Health Law was passed in 1984. After 1974, some gynecologists strongly recommended ‘menstrual regulation'(abbr. MR) surgery so as not to break the abortion law. MR was performed in the first two weeks after LMP(the last menstrual period) when a pregnancy test would be too inaccurate to prove the existence of an embryo. In fact, the law was not effectively enforced and very few people were punished for abortion, and there were tens of thousands of abortions happening each year. Compared to the number of convictions for abortion before and after MR was introduced, the influence of MR is not obvious. The most significant contribution of MR for gynecologists perhaps was that it offered them more opportunities to make a fortune and to peddle the trade of abortion to women openly and righteously rather than advertising illegal abortion services in newspapers.The method by which MR was introduced into Taiwan in the 1970s was similar to that of intrauterine contraceptive devices(Lippes Loop). Both were sponsored by international organizations from the USA and distributed as ‘birth control material' through NGOs with the tacit consent of the government in Taiwan. MR was not superior to other abortive techniques in effectiveness in the same period. In other words, MR wasn't an objective and neutral technology, and it had the advantage of developing successfully in an environment where competitor techniques were illegal. This paper, adopting the analytical framework used by John Law to study Portuguese maritime expansion in the fifteenth century, interprets that MR developed in Taiwan as a technical network builder associated with many heterogeneous elements, such as the inventor of MR, the non-profit international population-control organizations which promoted MR, the communities of doctor in Taiwan, women, the guilt associated with abortion, the inaccuracy of pregnancy tests, and abortion law, to establish successfully the technological network of MR. Nonetheless, after it gained fame in the 1970s, MR has declined recently. How can this tendency be explained? This question will be resolved in the last section of this paper.