BEIJING, Aug 25 (LSN) – Zenit news service reported last week that a genetics conference which met on August 12 in Beijing was boycotted by several nations in protest of Chinese policies which forbid couples to marry who have “genetic defects or limitations of a serious nature.” Zenit notes that the couples are allowed to marry if they are sterilized and those who ignore the law can be forcibly aborted. U.S., British, Dutch, and Argentine Genetics Associations stayed away from the conference in protest. A message sent by The International Genetics Federation said that the Chinese law “based on an erroneous genetic conception” and “violates the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.”
$