BEIJING (Reuters) - A new Chinese law calls for prison terms of up to three years and fines for doctors and other health workers who assist in telling the gender of unborn babies, leading to abortions, state media said on Monday.
The legal amendment would give new teeth to a government campaign to outlaw the selective abortion of female fetuses and correct an imbalance in the ratio of boys to girls that has grown since China's one-child policy was introduced more than 20 years ago.
"The revision is aimed to prevent the selection of a child's gender when not conducted for medical purposes," An Jian, a member of China's parliament who discussed the amendment over the weekend, was quoted as saying.
"Artificial gender selection can jeopardize China's population structure, leading to social instability," An wrote in a report.
Government figures show 119 boys are born for every 100 girls in the world's most populous nation. About 40 million men may live as frustrated bachelors by 2020.
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