Proposed fine of 100 million VND for choosing the sex of the fetus

The Ministry of Health is drafting a plan to increase the administrative fine for sex selection to VND100 million, more than three times the current fine. This will be a measure to reduce the growing gender imbalance at birth in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Health is drafting the Population Law to create a unified and synchronous legal basis, contributing to institutionalizing the Party's guidelines, policies and strategies on population work; overcoming limitations and shortcomings; and meeting the requirements of population work in the new situation.

The draft Population Law, which is being consulted until June 12, focuses on maintaining replacement fertility, controlling gender imbalance at birth, adapting to population aging, distributing population reasonably, and improving the quality of human resources.

According to the Draft Law, the gender imbalance at birth has become a challenge. In 2006, the sex ratio at birth was 109.8 boys/100 live births - exceeding the natural balance (103-107); in 2015 it was 112.8, and in 2024 it was 111.4. Thus, the sex ratio at birth is always high.

The Ministry of Health proposes to increase penalties for sex selection at birth.

It is predicted that if the sex ratio at birth remains the same as it is now, Vietnam will have a surplus of 1.5 million men aged 15-49 by 2039 and increase to 2.5 million by 2059.

This will lead to the risk of breaking down the family structure, a part of men will have to marry late, not be able to marry, increase the situation of trafficking of women, girls, prostitution, gender violence, transnational crime... There is no synchronous solution to adapt to the aging population, aging population; health care services for the elderly are still limited. The quality of the population does not meet the requirements.

Currently, the maximum fine for individuals violating population regulations is 30 million VND. The Ministry of Health believes that this level is not enough of a deterrent, so it has proposed increasing it to 100 million VND.

In addition, it is necessary to promote propaganda, communication, andeducation to change behavior and enhance the role and position of women and girls; and include content on eliminating discrimination, gender stereotypes, male preference, and discrimination against girls or boys.

Vietnam aims to bring the sex ratio at birth to a natural balance, below 109 boys/100 girls by 2030. Experts emphasize that it is necessary to change people's awareness and behavior, and encourage giving birth according to natural laws. At the same time, it is necessary to develop policies to support and enhance the role and position of women and girls in the family, community and society.

In addition, it is necessary to strictly enforce legal regulations on controlling gender imbalance at birth, while encouraging the birth of two children, especially girls, to balance the gender ratio.

Also according to the Draft Population Law, the national fertility rate is showing a downward trend below the replacement level, from 2.11 children/woman (2021) to 2.01 children/woman (2022), 1.96 children/woman (2023) and 1.91 children/woman (2024) - the lowest in history and is forecast to continue to decline in the following years.

If the birth rate continues to decline, by 2039 Vietnam will end its golden population period, in 2042 the working-age population will peak, and after 2054 the population will begin to grow negatively.

Therefore, the Draft Population Law proposes that the Government periodically announce the birth rate status so that local authorities can develop and implement appropriate support and incentive policies. In case the birth rate of some localities drops to a very low level, the Government will report and propose to the National Assembly timely intervention measures.

The draft law proposes to allow female workers to extend their maternity leave from 6 months to 7 months when giving birth to their second child. At the same time, it allows women who give birth to 2 children in industrial parks, export processing zones and provinces and cities with low birth rates to enjoy social housing support policies according to Government regulations.

The draft Population Law is being consulted by the Ministry of Health and will be submitted to the National Assembly at the 10th session in 2025.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/Xa-hoi/de-xuat-muc-phat-100-trieu-dong-neu-lua-chon-gioi-tinh-thai-nhi-i770373/