The Chinese National Health Commission announced the introduction of a partial ban on abortion in an attempt to stop the rapid drop in birth rate in the country. Activists and human rights activists believe that such a restriction will damage millions of women, the Russian BBC service reports.
It is noted that the birth rate in the PRC, who has been trying to limit the rapid growth of the population in recent decades, is now at a record low level. The population is becoming more and more old, and the government is taking decisive measures to fix this trend.
According to the recommendations of health officials, you can only abort pregnancy in China for medical reasons. The Chinese authorities also promise to expand social assistance for mothers and treat infertility more affordable. The National Commission believes that the new measure will contribute to the “long -term balanced development of the population”.
It is expected that this year the birth rate in China will fall to a record low level: according to forecasts, less than 10 million children will be born in the country (last year 10.6 million children were born in China, which is 11.5% less than a year earlier). According to UN forecasts, in 2023, India will overtake the PRC, becoming the most densely populated country in the world.
China also suffers from serious gender imbalance due to cultural preferences towards boys: last year, men in the country were 37 million more than women.
From 1980 to 2015, the policy “One family – one child” acted in China, recalls BBC. In 2016, the PRC authorities allowed families to have up to two children, another five years later the permissible number of children in the family was increased to three.
Human rights activists believe that the ban on termination of pregnancy will have a negative impact on millions of women.