Last year, Taiwanese health authorities moved to crack down on illegal abortions, warning that doctors found guilty of the practice could have their licenses revoked. They announced on Tuesday that tougher oversight on illegal gender-selective abortions prevented almost 1,000 terminations of female foetuses last year.

Chiu Shu-ti, director-general of the Bureau of Health Promotion, attributed the improvement to government measures aimed at curbing sex-selective abortions and public-private campaigns promoting gender equality awareness. “To improve the country’s imbalanced sex ratio, the DOH has been publishing birth statistics on a regular basis and monitoring hospitals with irregular numbers since May 2010,” Chiu said. “Thanks to these efforts, 993 baby girls were saved in 2011.”

“The strict measures have paid off,” said Lee Tsui-feng, an official at Bureau of the Health Promotion of Taiwan’s Department of Health. According to government figures, 108 male babies were born for every 100 female babies in 2011, down from 109 to 100 in 2010. The normal sex ratio at birth worldwide I 104-106 to every 100 females.

While sex-selective abortions have always been illegal in Taiwan, the practice is believed to have become widespread, due to a traditional preference for male offspring. Despite last year’s improvement, Lee said it might take another 4 or 5 years to root out illegal abortions entirely. ~ AFP, Feb 1; Taiwan Today, Jan 30