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Service helps college students pay for abortions with payment plans

A new online service that provides young women financial access to abortions with payment plans has stirred debate on social media.

The service, launched by Guangzhou Miya Internet Technology Company on Saturday, allows women enrolled in university to pay for abortion services over several months, the Nandu Daily reported.

The company said it is cooperating with local medical institutions such as the Xintian Reproductive Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University to provide abortions to qualified applicants with "no down payment" and "zero interest," according to the report.

Yan Zhengsheng, co-founder of the project, told the daily the service aims to make the costly procedure more affordable for young people.

"I got my girlfriend pregnant in my senior year and spent 10,380 yuan ($1,672) for the abortion and other treatments. I borrowed a lot of money from my friends and didn't dare ask my parents," Yan said.

Yan said that sex before marriage among young Chinese has increased in recent years.

"We polled over 1,000 samples and found that over 38 percent of college students have unprotected sex. We do not encourage sex before marriage, but we hope that when the unexpected happens they can afford better treatment."

Students can sign up by following the project's official WeChat account, but  payment methods, how applicants qualify or any other essential details were not included in the report.  

Many on social media argued the service will encourage couples to have unprotected sex.

"In the long term it forms a vicious cycle that leads to multiple abortions and increased medical costs," wrote a Net user.


Newspaper headline: Moment of netizen