A proposed Chinese law could allow prison terms of up to three years in addition to fines for physicians and other health care workers who tell pregnant women the gender of their fetuses, Reuters reports. "The revision is aimed to prevent the selection of a child's gender when not conducted for medical purposes," An Jian, a member of the National People's Congress, said, adding, "Artificial gender selection can jeopardize China's population structure, leading to social instability" (Reuters, 12/25/05). The Chinese government's one-child-per-family policy was instituted in the 1970s to slow the country's population growth (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 12/16/05). Because of "the abortion of female fetuses," the ratio of male to female births has increased and currently is 119 male to 100 female births, compared with the world average of 106 to 100, London's Times reports (Macartney, Times, 12/27/05). The Chinese government has said it is trying to reduce its "gender imbalance" by 2010 and started an education campaign that says that "girls are as good as boys," according to Reuters (Reuters, 12/25/05). The proposal has been submitted to the standing committee of China's parliament, which is expected to pass the bill, according to the Times (Times, 12/27/05).

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