Chinese women forced to register for morning-after pill

It's not easy for women in a Chinese province to have unprotected sex and then buyu00a0morning-after pills as the government has made it compulsory to register using "real names" before everyu00a0purchase.u00a0In Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, buyers of emergency contraception are now forced to register their names,u00a0phone numbers, and identity cards in any pharmacy, said Xinhua.

This rule has set off a firestorm of criticism on the internet. Web users said the registration, enforced by the localu00a0food and drug administration to battle "illegal abortion", was a blatant breach of privacy.u00a0People said it would have a massive impact on adolescent pregnancy, because young girls without identity cardsu00a0would face difficulties in buying such pills to avoid unwanted pregnancy.

The Fuzhou Food and Drug Administration, which implemented the rule Dec 21, said it was intended to protectu00a0women from the harmful misuse of the pills."As several emergency contraceptive pills contain mifepristone, which can be used as an abortifacient, someu00a0private clinics have used them to abort girls because a boy was the preference," said administration head Wuu00a0Xingfa.

Emergency contraceptives containing mifepristone are regularly sold over the counter, and illegal practitionersu00a0have easy access to the pills. The real-name registration would help deter such practices, he said.u00a0The rule has been enforced in several cities like Xiamen and Sanming.u00a0Regarding privacy, Wu said protection of clients' personal information fell beyond the administration's authority.u00a0

Local drugstores also said they were not well-equipped for the job.u00a0"We drugstores just follow orders to collect information and submit them to police and health authorities foru00a0scrutiny. We don't have the resources to protect such data from leaking," said a drugstore owner.

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