Induced abortion in China in 1990s

Xiaochun Qiao, Peking University

Based on data from “1997 National Population and Reproductive Health Survey", We estimated the overall number of induced abortions, calculate cohort induced abortion frequency, explore the impact of a child’s sex and the number of previous children on induced abortions, and find out the effects on some characteristics of women, such as gestation period, prior to an induced abortion. We found that induced abortions in China had their own characteristics, which were far different from other countries. The main difference was led by the fact that the country was driven by an implemented family planning program and nationwide population policies. The key cause of induced abortions was due to an inconsistency with the requirements of the family planning policy. However, as a result of effective and prevalent contraception, the rates of induced abortions are not quite as high as in the 1990s, when compared with other countries.