CONFLICTS BETWEEN CHINESE TRADITIONAL ETHICS AND BIOETHICS

China's National People's Congress is considering eugenics and health protection legislation, including state-ordered sterilizations and abortions to avoid births of inferior quality (Preventing ''inferior'' people in China [editorial]. New York Times 1993 Dec. 27:A16). Aggressive government-sponsored eugenics programs are not compatible with traditional Chinese medical ethics. Contemporary Chinese philosophers, however, recognize the tensions generated from a modern medical technology that offers the opportunity for individuals to avoid the birth of seriously compromised children coupled with the strains of an enlarged population and very limited material means to sustain that population.