An exhibition staged by Ge Hongjuan and other angry mothers shows the brochures and "magazines" that carry abortion ads and lewd photos and articles. Photo: Tang Tengfei

Health and family planning authorities in East China's An hui Province plan to ban abor tions for women 14 weeks into pregnancy, one of the latest at tempts to prevent sex-selective abortions believed to be a major reason for China's growing imbalance of gender ratio.

According to the draft, women over 14 weeks pregnant can only receive an abortion if doctors discover an abnormality in the fetus or if their pregnancy violates the country's family planning policy.

Violators will be fined up to 5,000 yuan ($806). Any institute or individual providing ille-gal fetus gender identification or abortions based on gender selection could face higher penalties or could even be held criminally liable.

The Anhui government is seeking public feed back on the draft until June 30.

The draft plan is in line with a nationwide crackdown on illegal fetus gender identification and sex-selective abortions, which was launched by the National Health and Family Planning Commission(NHFPC) and six other central gov ernment departments on May 7.

The inspections will focus on illegal clinics, health and family planning institutes and itiner ant physicians who practice gender identification and sex-selective abortions.

The abortion ban has already been adopted by a dozen other provinces in China.

There were 115.88 boys born for every 100 girls in 2014 in China, and the ratio recommended by the UN is between 103 to 107 boys for every 100 girls, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Illegal gender identification and sex-selective abortions "directly cause the gender imbalance," according to NHFPC.

Lu Jiehua, a professor of social demography at Peking University, said that many Chinese fami lies prefer boys than girls due to a cultural bias in favor of males.

"As the family planning policy gives them lim ited chances to give birth, couples choose to do pre-birth sex selection to make sure they can have a son," Lu told the Global Times.

Lu believes the gender imbalance could lead to a series of social problems, such as a rise in violence, given that many single men will be left without a wife.

According to a 2010 Social Development Blue Paper of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the gender ratio of Chinese aged below 19 is the worst among all age groups.

By 2020, the number of marrying-age Chi nese men will outnumber their female counter parts by 24 million.

Tightening the rules on abortions after 14 weeks of pregnancy can help limit pre-birth sex selection, as ultrasound tests are accurate after that time period, said Li Jiafu, an obstetrics and gynecology specialist at the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University.

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region issued a regulation in 2012 that any couple who con ducts an illegal sex-selective abortion would be banned from having children for three years.

However, Lu said that the crackdown still faces many obstacles.

Lu noted that the methods of identifying a fe tus' gender have diversified, which makes it more difficult to crack down on illegal sex selection.

"More people choose to get blood tests in Hong Kong to identify the fetus' gender," Lu said.

Advertisements of mainland-based agencies offering such gender tests can be found in online forums or social network platforms. An employ ee of a Guangzhou-based agency said that clients could get results within three days.

Lu said that gender discrimination in educa tion and employment has also encouraged the culture of gender bias.

In the long run, the campaign's impact will be limited, Lu said.