A senior Chinese official has called on the legislature to criminalize the sex identification of embryos for non-medical purposes.

"Some people will not dare cross the line if there is legal deterrent," said Zhang Weiqing, director of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, in the "Qiushi" (Seeking Truth From Facts) magazine.

"The major reason for China's rising gender imbalance is the entrenched concept that boys are better than girls. The direct reason is the abuse of ultrasound technology. Does the imbalance have something to do with family planning? Yes, but there is no direct connection."

Statistics from the National Population and Family Planning Commission show 117 boys born for every 100 girls in China, well above the international average of 104 to 107 boys.

The government has pledged to control the gender imbalance within five years, but Zhang said financial, educational and legal means were needed to crack down on gender selection and abortion for non-medical purposes.

A draft amendment to the criminal law has been submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for review, providing penalties of up to three years in jail, probation and fines for those involved in gender identification of embryos for non-medical purposes.

But lawmakers hold sharply divided opinions on the provision, with some arguing it is necessary to curb the country's abnormal sex ratio and prevent the use of abortion as a means of sex selection, while others contend that the law is unreasonable and impossible to police as evidence of the proposed crime would be difficult to gather.

Source: Xinhua