"Our child was killed," Li said. "I want fairness."
A campaign of forced sterilizations and abortions in Li's area started after county-level officials were criticized by provincial heads in July last year for failing to reach population control targets, according to Chen Guangcheng, who is a Shandong-based activist.
The report in the New England Journal did not address the issue of forced abortions but said that overall abortion rates in China were "relatively low" because of high contraceptive rates, with some 87 percent of married women using birth control.
It says 25 percent of Chinese women of reproductive age have had at least one abortion, compared to 43 percent in the US.
Hao, the family planning official, acknowledged worries that the gender imbalance resulting from sex-selective abortions and other practices could have dangerous social consequences due to anticipated shortages of marriageable young women.
Government statistics show that 117 boys are born in China for every 100 girls, well above the average for industrialized countries of between 103 and 107 boys for every 100 girls.
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