I didn't even know that China allowed sex selective abortions, but apparently lawmakers were considering outlawing them. (This article states that sex selective abortions are illegal in China although there are no criminal penalties, but apparently the government has been addressing the sex-selective abortion issue for a few years) The failure of the lawmakers to agree on the bill will apparently leave the practice legal. China's one-child policy has led to an imbalance of males and females, as families will choose to have their one child be a boy, when possible. (Old RRB post about China's abortion law here and here, stats here - scroll down). India, too, had an imbalance of men and women, perhaps due to sex selective abortions (RRB post here) or other social practices. This widespread discrimination against females has led to what Amartya Sen calls the 100 million missing women. Also, here is an interview with a Chinese official on China's policy, from a Chinese website, so take it with a grain of salt. Counter to the official's statements, the one-child policy has been instituted in China for years, and the Bush Administration, that bastion of women's rights, has spoken out against it.