According to a report of June 22, Jiangxi province issued guidelines the previous week stipulating that women more than 14 weeks pregnant must have signed approval from three medical professionals confirming an abortion is medically necessary before any procedure. The measures are meant to help prevent sex-selective abortions, which are illegal in China. The sex of a child is often discernible after 14 weeks. Jiangxi’s guidelines come as Chinese officials look for ways to deal with the country’s ageing population and low fertility rates, the result of decades of restricting family size, known as the one-child policy 

Meanwhile, the regulations triggered critical comment on China's social media micro-blogging platform Weibo with remarks like  “Your womb is being monitored”; “What is the purpose and basis of this policy? The reproductive rights of women in this country seem to be a joke” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.”