Abortion Laws in China

CHINA. Law on Maternal and Infant Health Care, 27 October 1994.

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Chapter II. Pre-marital Health Care

Article 7.
Medical and health institutions shall provide citizens with pre-marital health-care services.

Pre-marital health-care services shall include the following:

(1) pre-marital health instruction: education in sex, human reproduction and genetic diseases;

(2) pre-marital health consultation: medical advice on matters relating to marriage and child-bearing, etc.; and

(3) pre-marital medical examination: medical examination conducted for both the male and female planning to be married to see whether they suffer from any disease that may have an adverse effect on marriage and child-bearing.

Chapter III. Health Care During the Pregnant and Prenatal Period

Article 16.    If a physician detects or suspects that a married couple in their child-bearing age suffer from genetic disease of a serious nature, the physician shall give them medical advice, according to which the said couple shall take corresponding measures.

Article 17.    After antenatal examination, if a physician detects or suspects an abnormality with the fetus, he shall make pre-natal diagnosis for the pregnant woman.

Article 18.    If one of the following cases is detected in the pre-natal diagnosis, the physician shall explain the situations to the married couple and give them medical advice on a termination of gestation:

(1) The fetus is suffering from a genetic disease of a serious nature;

(2) The fetus is with a defect of a serious nature; or

(3) Continued gestation may jeopardize the safety of life of the pregnant woman or seriously impair her health, due to the serious disease she suffers from.

Article 19.
Termination of gestation or performance of ligation operations practised in accordance with the provisions of this Law shall be subject to the consent and signing of the person per se. If the person per se has no capacity for civil conduct, it shall be subject to the consent and signing of the guardian of the person.

Whoever is to terminate gestation or receive ligation operations under this Law shall receive such services free of charge.

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Chapter V. Administrative Management

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Article 32.
Medical and health institutions that in accordance with the provisions of this
Law carry out pre-marital medical examination, genetic disease diagnosis and pre-natal diagnosis, ligation operations and operations for termination of gestation must meet the requirements and technical standards set by the administrative department of public health under the State Council, and shall obtain the permission of the administrative departments of public health under the local people’s governments at or above the county level.

Sex identification of the fetus by technical means shall be strictly forbidden, except that it is positively necessitated on medical grounds.

Article 33.
Personnel engaged in making genetic disease diagnosis or pre-natal diagnosis as provided by this Law must pass the examination of the administrative department of public health under the people’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government, and obtain a corresponding qualification certificate.

Personnel engaged in making pre-marital medical examination, performing ligation operations or operations for termination of gestation as provided by this Law and persons engaged in home delivery must pass the examination of the administrative department of public health under the people’s government at or above the county level, and obtain a corresponding qualification certificate.

Article 34.
Personnel engaged in the work of maternal and infant health care shall strictly abide by the professional ethics and keep secrets for the parties concerned.

Chapter VI. Legal Liability

Article 35.    Where anyone who has not obtained a relevant qualification certificate issued by the
State commits any of the following acts, the administrative department of public health under the local people’s government at or above the county level shall stop such act and give a warning to or impose a fine upon him in light of the circumstances:

(1) to engage in pre-marital medical examination, genetic disease diagnosis, pre-natal diagnosis or medical technical appraisement;

(2) to perform operations for termination of gestation; or

(3) to issue relevant medical certificate as stipulated by this Law.

The relevant medical certificate as mentioned in item (3) of the preceding paragraph shall be null and void.

Article 36.    Where anyone who has not obtained relevant qualification certificate issued by the
State performs operations for termination of gestation or terminates gestation by other means, thus causing death, disability, loss or basic loss of working ability, shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to the provisions of Article 134 and Article 135 of the Criminal Law.

Article 37.    Where personnel engaged in the work of maternal and infant health care, in violation of the stipulations of this Law, issue fake medical certificates, or undertake sex identification of the fetus, medical and health institutions or administrative departments of public health shall in light of the circumstances give them administrative sanctions; if the circumstances are serious, they shall be disqualified for practice of their profession according to law.

Law on the Protection of Rights and Interest of Women, 3 April 1992.

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Article 42. When a wife terminates gestation as required by the family planning programme, her husband may not apply for a divorce within six months after the operation; this restriction shall not apply in a case where the wife applies for a divorce, or when the people’s court deems it necessary to accept the divorce application made by the husband.