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China moves to ban late term abortions
By Jonathan Watts
December 16, 2004
Beijing - One of the world's least controlled abortion regimes will be
tightened next month, when the Chinese city of Guiyang introduces a pilot
programme aimed at halting the widespread termination of female foetuses.
The new policy bans doctors from carrying out abortions on most women who are
more than 14 weeks into pregnancy. In many cases, the parents delay making a
decision until ultrasound checks can determine the sex of their child. If it is
a boy - who can carry on the family name - there is more likelihood that the
pregnancy will be completed. If it is a girl - considered less valuable by many
families - there is a greater chance of abortion.
A preference for males is a feature of many Asian societies and has led to
gender imbalances in India, South Korea and Taiwan. But the demographic
distortions of this bias are thought to have been greater in China because of
the country's one-child policy.
The policy has led to fears of social instability as future generations of men
are unable to find wives, and the sex trade and trafficking of women becomes
more lucrative.
China's laws do not set time limits for abortions, reflecting a government
drive to curb the growth of the world's largest population. Ministry of Health
protocols for gynaecology clinics say pregnancies can be terminated until 24
weeks. There are reports of doctors carrying out abortions at even later
stages.
Last year, 117 boys were born for every 100 girls in China. In 1982, shortly
after the introduction of the one-child policy, the ratio was similar to the
global average of 105 boys for every 100 girls.
Worried by the long-term impact of this trend, president Hu Jintao ordered
China's demographers in March to step up research into the social implications
of the one-child policy.
Three months ago, the government began gathering information about abortion
laws in other countries and canvassing international organisations for their
views. The main recommendation to emerge was for a time limit.
Guiyang, the provincial capital of Guizhou Province, is the first to put the
new thinking into practice. Under new regulations which come into force on
January 1, the only abortions that will be permitted after 14 weeks are those
in cases where the spouse has died, the couple have divorced or the foetus is
proven to have a genetic disfigurement or disease. Any doctor or hospital
administrator found to have violated this rule faces a penalty of up to six
times their earnings.
The city's officials said the new regulations were necessary because the
boy-girl ratio on the city was between 129:100 and 147:100 for couples seeking
to have a second or third child. This is permissible in some provinces, despite
the one-child policy being rigorously enforced in wealthier cities.
"The current situation has severely affected the city's pop ulation and family
planning work," Luo Zhuyun, the deputy mayor said. "It has also has a great
impact on the local economy, the use of resources and the prospects for
sustainable development. There is no time to delay."
International development workers gave a cautious welcome to the announcement,
noting that the health risk to mothers is 10 to 20 times lower if abortions are
carried out in the first rather than the third trimester.
"If this is part of a trend in China, it is very good news indeed," said Siri
Tellier, representative of the UN population fund in Beijing.
Critics, however, will point to uncertainties about implementation and
continued concerns about what they see as the coercive nature of China's
one-child policy. Because of the stiff financial penalties for second children,
many couples have unregistered babies. There may be as many as a 100 million of
these "illegal children".
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