Couples not waiting for 2nd-child rule

Remarried couples in Guangdong province who are pregnant with their second child will not be forced to have an abortion, even though they have not yet been granted permission for a second child.

The provincial population and family planning commission will also not suggest that employers dismiss or punish those who are pregnant with a second child without permission, the commission said on Tuesday.

The commission said it is studying and drafting regulations for remarried couples.

"But when the detailed regulations will be available is still unknown," the commission said.

Twenty-eight provinces, regions and municipalities in the mainland have introduced regulations for remarried couples to have a second child.

Zhai Zhenwu, a demographer at Beijing-based Renmin University of China, said that the provincial commission did not violate any regulations when they did not force couples to have abortions.

"The couples who are pregnant with their second child also did not break any laws and family planning policies, as Guangdong has yet to pass regulations for remarried couples," the professor of sociology and population policies told China Daily on Tuesday.

He urged the local population and family-planning commission to introduce such policies and regulations soon.

Yu Jiexiao, who is remarried, suggested employers not fire women who are pregnant with their second child.

"That would help reduce the number of induced abortions for local women in Guangdong," Yu told China Daily on Tuesday.

"Some wives who have been pregnant with their second child have an abortion because they fear being dismissed by their employers," she added.

With a population of about 110 million, Guangdong is China's most populous province. The capital, Guangzhou, has a population of more than 16 million.

But the birthrate in the province - which lacks a sufficient workforce and relies on people migrating from other provinces - has remained low for decades, insiders said.

Xie Xintian contributed to this story.

zhengcaixiong@chinadaily.com.cn