The number of single women having abortions has soared. Unmarried women accounted for about 65 percent of abortions last year - compared to only 25 percent in 1999 - in major cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin, medical experts said at yesterday's meeting addressing the importance of contraceptive education for young people.
The shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission and Nanjing Organon Pharmaceutical Co will launch courses at universities in the city on reproduction and contraception. Experts from both home and abroad will give lectures on campuses later this year.
"In China, women between 20 and 29 years old have the most abortions and the percentage of those who are unmarried varies from 23 to 65 percent depending on the region," said Dr Yan Fengting, Organon's senior medical adviser. "About 5 percent of those getting an abortion are minors in Beijing and it's 7.2 percent in Shanghai."
Experts said the high abortion rate is due to the growing prevalence of premarital sex and a lack of contraceptive understanding. Yan said that about 54 percent of women seeking an abortion did not use a contraceptive. The rate jumps to 80 percent among unmarried women.
(Shanghai Daily June 6, 2005)
