No abortion allowed after 14 weeks of pregnancy

Recently, the "Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Regulations on Prohibition of Non-Medical Fetal Gender Identification and Selective Sex-Based Artificial Termination of Pregnancy (Draft Amendment)" was submitted to the 20th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 11th People's Congress of the Autonomous Region for deliberation. According to Tang Zheng, deputy director of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the Autonomous Region People's Congress, the first reading of the draft amendment has been completed and relevant research is currently underway to prepare for the second reading in May.

It is reported that the draft amendment has made clearer provisions on the norms that should be followed in the implementation of termination of pregnancy and the management system of termination of pregnancy drugs, and has also increased the administrative penalties for illegal acts. The draft stipulates that only medical and health care institutions designated by the autonomous region's health administrative department can conduct fetal sex identification; women of childbearing age who meet the legal fertility conditions and are pregnant for more than 14 weeks but cannot provide supporting documents will not be allowed to undergo abortion.

Maintain a normal population sex ratio

It is understood that the "Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Regulations on Prohibition of Illegal Identification of Fetal Sex and Termination of Pregnancy Based on Fetal Sex" came into effect on October 1, 2000, and played an important role in preventing and combating illegal identification of fetal sex and illegal termination of pregnancy. However, the trend of increasing sex ratio at birth in Guangxi has not been effectively curbed, and it has been listed as one of the 11 provinces (regions) under key supervision and guidance by the National Population and Family Planning Commission.

What is the reason for the high sex ratio of Guangxi's population? Xie Qingsong, a medical law expert at Guangxi Medical University, told reporters that the traditional concept of favoring sons over daughters and continuing the family line has led most people, especially farmers, to prefer boys in gender selection. The illegal use of B-ultrasound to identify the sex of the fetus and artificial abortion technology has accelerated the destruction of the gender balance of the newborn population, which has directly led to the marriageable male population in poor rural and remote areas of Guangxi becoming a "vulnerable group" in mate selection. A new form of poverty, "marriage poverty", will have a strong restrictive effect on the social and economic development of these areas. Xie Qingsong said that the autonomous region urgently needs to increase efforts to regulate the use of medical technology and control the gender imbalance of the newborn population. The move to revise the draft can be described as "timely rain."

Professor Zhang Jun, Dean of the Law School of Guangxi University, believes that the problem of population quality and gender imbalance is still quite serious in some parts of my country. If this situation persists, it will lead to a series of social problems. At present, many provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in my country have passed legislation to adjust the issues of fetal sex identification and termination of pregnancy after 14 weeks of pregnancy. This is based on actual conditions and is more targeted and realistic. Guangxi is no exception.

Focus on combating "two illegal" behaviors

In order to strictly investigate and punish the two "non-medical" behaviors of fetal sex identification, selective artificial termination of pregnancy, and illegal sale and use of abortion drugs, the draft revision has a major change, which is to change the medical institutions that conduct fetal sex identification for medical needs from "approval" to "designation". Article 6 stipulates that if the fetus is suspected of having a sex-linked genetic disease and the fetal sex needs to be identified, the identification shall be carried out by the medical care institution designated by the health administrative department of the autonomous region's people's government. Non-designated medical care institutions and other units and individuals are not allowed to conduct fetal sex identification. From approval to designation, it is conducive to clarifying and limiting the scope and responsibilities of medical institutions with identification qualifications.

Usually, there are two ways for pregnant women to know the sex of their fetus: one is to go to a "black clinic" for B-ultrasound, and the other is to have the sex of the fetus disclosed by a regular hospital. In order to avoid these two behaviors, the draft amendment stipulates that if the sex of the fetus is disclosed, the health administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level shall impose a fine of not less than 1,000 yuan but not more than 5,000 yuan on the person who discloses the sex of the fetus.

The draft revision has made strict regulations on the use and purchase and sale of abortion drugs. Abortion drugs can only be used in medical and health care institutions or family planning technical service institutions that are qualified to perform abortion operations. When qualified units purchase such drugs, they must show relevant qualification certificates to the sales units and establish true and complete purchase and use records. The sales units must check the relevant certificates of the drug buyers and establish true and complete purchase and sale records. At the same time, drug retailers are prohibited from selling abortion drugs. If a drug retailer sells abortion drugs, the illegally sold drugs and illegal income will be confiscated, and a fine of not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 30,000 yuan will be imposed.

Termination of pregnancy requires certification

The draft amendment stipulates that if a woman who meets the statutory childbearing conditions and has obtained a childbearing service certificate intends to terminate a pregnancy for non-medical reasons after 14 weeks of pregnancy, she must obtain approval from the family planning administrative department of the county-level people's government or the family planning work agency of the township (town) people's government or the street office where she is located, and obtain the corresponding certificate. If a woman who meets the statutory childbearing conditions and is more than 14 weeks pregnant undergoes a termination of pregnancy without authorization, the population and family planning administrative department of the county-level people's government will not approve her to have another child within three years.

In this regard, some citizens are worried that it will take a lot of time to apply for certification materials, which makes some pregnant women choose private clinics with unsecured medical conditions to terminate their pregnancies. In this regard, staff from the Family Planning Bureau of Xixiangtang District, Nanning City, told reporters that as long as the application for induced abortion certificates meets the regulations, the family planning department will handle it on the spot as soon as possible without delay, and will conduct a strict review of the parties involved, especially married women, unless there is a relevant certificate issued by the hospital, otherwise it will not be processed.