Government says clampdown is aimed at improving women’s reproductive health, but it comes amid anxiety about the nation’s falling birth rate

China has already enacted strict measures aimed at preventing sex-selective abortions, and health authorities also warned in 2018 that the use of abortion to end unwanted pregnancies was harmful to women’s bodies and risked causing infertility.

The state council said the new guidelines, issued on Monday, would aim to improve women’s overall access to pre-pregnancy healthcare services.

    • NewAccountWhoDis [she/her]
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      3 years ago

      you can’t screen every women to know if they’re doing it to for the wrong reasons. so you just outlaw abortions? it’s a personal choice only the mother can make and any restriction of that is nothing but violating human rights

      No of course not, I think we should lean on the side of allowing them but there are things you can put into place to mitigate it. Regulations against revealing a child's gender or genetic makeup to the parents before X date would be one useful step for example. Also motives and intent are often considered in the law, it's not always some unknowable thing.

        • NewAccountWhoDis [she/her]
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          3 years ago

          Meaning that in cases where intent for eugenics isn't clear, they should be allowed. But like let's say a person had posted before on social media "I won't ever want an autistic child" and then suddenly decides to not have a child right after it's revealed there's a high chance of their child being autistic. The intent there is pretty clear. To allow that would be to allow eugenics.

          Of course the proper option is what I said already and it shouldn't even be revealed until after they've made their choice

            • NewAccountWhoDis [she/her]
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              3 years ago

              Oh yeah I agree but I would assume in Feminist Land that there's better supports for parents that help to prevent abuse and more monitoring/resources for helping children in need too.

              Obviously a situation like this is one that needs a lot done on multiple different factors.