71.   Eight of the women who were told they were carrying female foetuses terminated their pregnancies, the report said.

72.   They also say that the current situation leads to Swiss women travelling to different regions to have their pregnancy terminated.

73.   The Xinmin Evening News daily reported that women who violate the regulation and terminate their pregnancies will be barred from having another child for five years.

74.   Women who discover that they are pregnant with girls often decide to terminate their pregnancies and try again for a boy.

75.   More controversially, and despite protest from conservative religious and political groups, the bill will permit teenagers to terminate a pregnancy without seeking parental consent.

76.   She added that pregnant women infected with the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome should also be allowed to decide whether to terminate their pregnancies.

77.   The proposal brought Switzerland in line with most European countries whose legislation allow women to terminate pregnancies in the first trimester, with the exception of Ireland and Poland.