A woman from Xinzhou County in Wuhan had eight abortions in 15 years in an attempt to satisfy her mother-in-law's demand for a son to carry on the family name.

Ms. Zhao's mother-in-law was proud of giving birth to two sons and valued boys more than girls.

When another daughter-in-law was unwilling to give birth to a second child after delivering a girl, she forced the couple to split up. Ms. Zhao is turning 40 and her mother-in-law suspects she cannot have another baby, so is looking for girls to go on blind dates with her son.

She has asked her son to divorce his wife if he finds another girl. But her son refused.