China law threatens jail for sex-selective abortions

BEIJING (Reuters) – A new Chinese law calls for prison
terms of up to three years and fines for doctors and other
health workers who assist in telling the gender of unborn
babies, leading to abortions, state media said on Monday.

The legal amendment would give new teeth to a government
campaign to outlaw the selective abortion of female foetuses
and correct an imbalance in the ratio of boys to girls that has
grown since China’s one-child policy was introduced more than
20 years ago.

“The revision is aimed to prevent the selection of a
child’s gender when not conducted for medical purposes,” An
Jian, a member of China’s parliament who discussed the
amendment over the weekend, was quoted as saying.

“Artificial gender selection can jeopardise China’s
population structure, leading to social instability,” An wrote
in a report.

Government figures show 119 boys are born for every 100
girls in the world’s most populous nation. About 40 million men
may live as frustrated bachelors by 2020.

The Chinese tradition of preference for sons — seen as
carrying the family name and being able to provide for their
parents in old age — was bolstered after the one-child policy
was introduced to curb China’s population, now over 1.3
billion.

Sex-selective abortion is banned but ultrasound has made it
easier to know a baby’s gender in advance, increasing the
chances for aborting girls.

“The amendment specifies that anyone who assists others
with gender selection will face heavy fines and a three-year
jail sentence,” the China Daily said.

China has vowed to reverse the trend of its gender
imbalance by 2010. It previously launched a tentative scheme to
pay moderate pensions to rural parents with no sons and educate
them that “girls are as good as boys.”