Unmarried single mothers beware! A central Chinese city plans to fine mothers who have children out of wedlock.

On Friday, the government of Wuhan city in central Hubei published online a draft updated family planning policy which it says is aimed at keeping the city's birth rate at a low level.

The plan has sparked criticism that the policy is discriminatory and could lead to increase in abandoned infants in the country.

"Cases of children born out of wedlock are often complex and cannot be judged by a one-size-fits-all measure," said an editorial in the state-run Global Times newspaper. "It only penalizes mothers while ignoring the responsibilities of the fathers. It only seriously affects the poor while having almost no impact on the rich. It undermines social fairness."

The policy says that "the parties" should pay the fee in cases of births that are out of wedlock or when one side knowingly has a child with someone who has a spouse. It has been interpreted in state media as mainly targeting unmarried mothers and women who have affairs with married men. The public has a week to comment on it.

Wuhan city responded to the criticism by claiming that it will be soliciting "advice" on the draft, and that the article is subject to change.

http://www.infonubia.com/2013/06/single-moms-in-china-could-face-huge.html