Encourage Men To Share Responsibilities, China Will Reduce Abortion

People wear masks as they walk in Shanghai, China, Thursday (5/8/2021). BETWEEN PHOTOS/REUTERS/Aly Song/rwa.

JAKARTA - China will reduce the practice of abortion for "non-medical purposes", according to new guidelines announced by the state cabinet on Monday, September 27.

China's State Council said measures would also be taken to avoid unwanted pregnancies and encouraged men to "share the responsibility" in preventing them.

Local authorities aim to improve sex education and strengthen postabortion and postpartum family planning services.

"The basic national policy on gender equality and the principle of prioritizing children need to be implemented comprehensively," said deputy director of the National Working Committee on Women and Children.

China has imposed strict measures to prevent sex-selective abortion, which has been criticized for fueling the gender gap.

After years of trying to limit population growth, Beijing has promised policies aimed at adding more family members. In June, China allowed all couples to have three children instead of two, while policies designed to reduce the financial burden of raising children also went into effect.

It did not say whether the abortion guidelines were designed to address China's declining birth rate, which thinkers and researchers identify as one of the main social policy challenges in the coming decades.

Although China remains the world's most populous country, the latest census showed population growth from 2011 to 2020 was the slowest since the 1950s. The population is expected to start declining in a few years.

National Health Commission data show that between 2014 and 2018, there have been an average of 9.7 million abortions per year, an increase of about 51 percent from the 2009-2013 average, despite the relaxation of family planning policies in 2015 to allow every the family has two children.

The data did not specify how many abortions were performed for medical reasons.