ETHICS COMMITTEES FACING TOUGHER ABORTION DECISIONS

Developments in medicine have seen the number of problematic cases soar, as Zhou Wenting reports from Shanghai.

As deputy director of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University, one of the largest maternity hospitals in Shanghai, Jiang Hua sees both joy and despair every day.

Despite the joy of seeing new lives begin, though, he also shoulders a heavy responsibility as deputy head of the hospital's ethics committee. The panel decides whether a pregnancy should be allowed to go to term if the baby has been diagnosed with a congenital defect or a serious or life-threatening illness.