A 27-YEAR-OLD woman who had seventeen abortions in six years may never be able to have kids because of severe damage to her uterus, it is claimed.

Known by her doctors as "Xiao Ju", the patient reportedly had her first procedure at a hospital in Central China’s Hubei Province at the age of 21

2 A woman has had to undergo 17 abortions in just six years in Central China's Hubei Province, it is claimed Credit: Alamy

Since then - the same year she began dating her current boyfriend - she is said to have undergone an average of three abortions a year.

Zhao Qin, head of gynaecology at Shiyan Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, said she had implored the pregnant woman to keep her child because it may have been her last chance at motherhood.

The story was published in the Shiyan Evening News, according to MailOnline, though The Sun Online has not been able to verify this independently.

Doctor Zhao said she realised the severity of Xiao Ju’s physical condition while examining her for her latest procedure, it was reported.

She said: "I found her uterus lining to be critically thin, like a piece of paper, due to the repeated abortions she had had.

"Her uterus was also badly scarred."

Zhao apparently encouraged her patient to keep her child, urging: "If you don’t have to have this abortion, then keep this baby, because it may be very, very difficult for you to get pregnant again."

But according to the doctor, Xiao Ju says she doesn't plan to get married and doesn't have the ability to raise a child, Zhao recalled.

A thin endometrial lining - the membrane lining the uterus - can lead to recurrent miscarriages, and therefore difficulty reaches late-stage pregnancy.

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While married couples are now legally allowed to have up to two children in China, the government enforces a zero-child policy for unmarried women, counting all unwed births as out-of-quote births.

Regulations in a number of Chinese provinces explicitly state that women who violate the policy must terminate their pregnancies.

If they do have a child out of wedlock, they are not able to receive any of the usual child benefits - including health, housing and education - unless they pay a hefty fine.

2 Doctor Zhao Qin says repeated abortions might mean her patient can never have children again Credit: AsiaWire

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