New York, December 2, 1994. In an article published on his Vol.III, N 21, the magazine Reproductive Freedom News write, "On October 27, in an attempt to 'upgrade the general qualities of a new population of a country', the government of the People's Republic of China passed a comprehensive law containing several controversial provisions designed to limit what the government has referred to as 'inferior' births. The Maternal and Infant Health Care Law seeks to regulate government and medical support for maternal and child health, yet it requires physicians to recommend that couples 'should postpone their marriage' if either one is found to have an infectious, contagious disease or an active mental disorder. According to the statute, if one partner is diagnosed with a "serious hereditary disease, 'the couple may only marry if they agree to use long-term contraception' or to 'give up childbearing by undergoing ligation (permanent sterilization). The law further requires a doctor to advise a pregnant woman to ob

tain an abortion when prenatal tests indicate that the fetus has a 'serious hereditary disease' or 'serious deformity'. Although the statute purports to require a woman's consent for abortion, it states that a couple 'should follow' their physician's recommendation".