A Beijing lawyer and legislator called for abortion to be carried out free of charge at public hospitals to help young students in difficulty. The intention to help young people is good, but there should be better ways to protect them, said an article in The Beijing News (excerpts below).

For financial reasons, some students choose to have induced abortions at substandard medical institutions. Referring to the above situation, Wei Aimin, a lawyer and a member of Beijing Municipal People’s Congress suggested providing free abortions in some public hospitals and called for society to better protect vulnerable women.

Such help is good for their healthcare but the best protection for young girls should be avoiding pregnancy, rather than offering help after the fact.

Sex education in schools and universities must be given a higher priority and students must be taught about responsibility.

Moreover, we should establish a system which includes induced abortions as a normal medical treatment, not just for students. All women must benefit, especially those who drop out of school or lose their jobs.