Vietnam to destroy 30,000 sex-selection books
By Agence France Presse,
Agence France Presse
| 07. 03. 2009
HANOI (AFP) - Vietnam, concerned that too many boys are being born, will destroy more than 30,000 copies of books instructing couples on how to have a baby of their desired sex, state-linked media said Friday.
The books include 27 titles and were seized last month, VietnamNet online news service said, citing officials.
Articles with the same content have been removed from seven websites, it said.
The United Nations Population Fund noted in May a steadily increasing sex ratio at birth. The ratio is now 112 boys born for every 100 girls in Vietnam, compared with a ratio of 105 or 106 boys before sex selection took place.
The trend will leave millions of Vietnamese men with difficulty finding wives if it continues, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan said, according to state media.
"Obviously, the imbalance in SRB (sex ratio at birth) results from son preference and sex selection abortion practices," the UN said.
Vietnam's prime minister has prohibited all practices of foetal sex determination and selection, the UN noted.
"Furthermore, continued efforts must be made to strengthen public...
Related Articles
By Abby Vesoulis, Mother Jones | 04.18.2026
Two years ago, we devoted an entire issue to the rise of the American oligarchy. Since then, our oligarchic system has become more entrenched and pervasive, revolving around a small crew of tech titans whose quest for wealth and...
By Alex Aylward, Daniel J. Fairbanks, Maria Kiladi, and Gregory Radick , Heredity | 04.20.2026
Genetics and eugenics co-evolved at the beginning of the twentieth century and remained associated through the 1940s and beyond. Early geneticists were far from unanimous in their views on eugenics; some avidly supported the movement, whereas others openly opposed it...
By George Janes, BioNews | 04.20.2026
New regulations in sperm donation are being implemented by Belgium's Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAMHP), following revelations regarding the use of sperm carrying a cancer-causing mutation, and widespread breaches of donor limits.
In 2025, it...
By Peter Ward, Slate | 03.30.2026
I’m in a cramped examination room at a clinic in Panama City. The lights are dim, and calming classical music plays from built-in speakers. A nurse has injected a dose of stem cells into Kenneth Scott through an IV in...