China bans abortion based on baby's gender

ABC Australia | July 16 2004

China says it will strictly ban selective abortion of female foetuses in an attempt to reverse a disastrous imbalance in the ratio of newborn boys to girls.

The latest statistics in China show that 119 boys are born for every 100 girls, the official Xinhua news agency reports.

A normal newborn sex ratio is 103 to 107 boys for 100 girls.

Senior family planning official Zhao Baige says the Government plans to reverse the imbalance by 2010 by banning sex-selective abortion and launching campaigns to end the tradition of valuing boys more than girls.

"Any individual or medical organisation offering illegal sex-selective abortion services will take legal responsibility," Xinhua quoted her as saying.

Dr Zhao blamed the imbalance on the traditional preference for boys, which remains strong in the countryside despite campaigns emphasising sex equality, and a poor rural social security system which forces people to become dependent on their children in old age.

President Hu Jintao this year said that bringing China's newborn sex ratio back to a normal level had become one of the country's important goals in the coming 10 years, Xinhua reported.

The arrival of new technologies, especially ultrasound scanning, has made it possible for Chinese couples to know the sex of their unborn baby and, in many cases, have an abortion if it it a girl.

Strict population policies have made matters worse, as couples are usually allowed to have only one child, or two at the most in rural areas.

The gender imbalance has led to warnings that millions of Chinese men will be unable to find partners in coming decades and led to a major problem with trafficking in women and children.