The National Assembly’s Committee for Social Affairs convened its seventh meeting in Hanoi on April 22 to prepare content for the upcoming plenary session of the legislative body in May.

In opening the meeting, the committee’s chairwoman Truong Thi Mai said the working agenda includes reports on revisions being made to the Law on Marriage and Family and the Law on Health Insurance.

The committee will also discuss a draft report of the NA Standing Committee on the monitoring of laws on poverty reduction in the 2005-2012 period, as well as the Government’s accounts on the implementation of the national target on gender equality and the use of the social insurance fund in 2013.

A hearing will be held during the meeting on how laws and policies on poverty reduction for ethnic minorities are being carried out, Mai said.

At later discussions on proposed revisions and amendments to the Law on Marriage and Family, many committee members supported the stipulation on surrogacy for humanitarian purpose, but called for stricter rules to prevent the commercialisation of the practice. They reinforced that the interests of all involved sides, particularly children, must be ensured so that arising disputes can be solved appropriately.

Regarding the Law on Health Insurance, there were many opinions suggesting making health insurance compulsory in order to achieve the target of universal health insurance coverage.-VNA