Behind the Silence ─ Chinese Voices on Abortion

In the view of author Nie Jing-Bao (Bioethics Center, U. of Otago, New Zealand), international debate about Chinese abortion practices and population control policies have proceeded with little reference to the views and experiences of the Chinese people, in part because there is little loud debate about abortion within China. Despite this perceived silence on the issue, Chinese people do hold a range of moral and ethical views in regards to the artificial termination of pregnancy and such related issues as fetal life, birth control, and Chinese population policy. These views "behind the silence" are the subject of this book, which reports on the results of structured interviews with 30 women who have experienced abortions and 30 doctors who have performed them, as well as 601 questionnaires from a wide range of Chinese people, including urban and rural residents, doctors and medical students, professors of the medical humanities and ethics, and of varied religions. In addition to reporting on the views and experiences of his subjects, the author also offers a sociological and ethical inquiry into coerced abortion associated with the Chinese abortion program. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Nie Jing-Bao is senior lecturer at the Bioethics Centre, University of Otago, New Zealand, and adjunct/visiting professor at several Chinese universities. He has published nearly sixty journal articles and book chapters, and is the author of Medical Ethics in China (2006). Another area of his research focuses on Japanese wartime medical atrocities in China.