China to Punish Parents Who Abort Girls

Families' desire for boys is creating gender imbalance
By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 25, 2007 2:29 PM CDT
China to Punish Parents Who Abort Girls
A nurse attends to a baby at the newly opened Bayi Children Hospital in Beijing on Wednesday, May 30, 2007. A generation after being imposed, China's family planning policies continue to engender anger and resentment, especially among the largely rural country's farmers. Under the regulations, most...   (Associated Press)

China is designing new rules to stop parents from aborting female fetuses, the BBC reports. Parents are currently allowed only one child and often abort girls, worried that they won't be able to support the family. This back-room practice is creating a growing gender imbalance: Now Beijing plans stricter punishments on doctors and parents who engage in the illegal abortions.

The one-child policy coupled with a cultural preference for males has taken its toll. Ninety-nine cities have a gender imbalance above 125 boys for every 100 girls. "The root cause is traditional thinking that boys are better than girls, especially in poverty-stricken areas," said one expert. China is worried that the shortage of wives will lead to social problems and more violence among men. (More abortion stories.)

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