A Chinese woman reportedly chose to abort her unborn baby boy after being misled by social media into believing he might have a condition often wrongly associated with aggressive and violent tendencies.
According to the South China Morning Post, prenatal checks revealed that the unborn boy had XYY syndrome, also known as Jacob’s syndrome, a condition incorrectly linked to criminal behavior.
The situation began on July 14 when Jiujiu, from Sichuan in southwestern China, shared her prenatal examination results on the Chinese social media platform Douyin. The report indicated a high likelihood of the baby having the syndrome.
Research shows that individuals with XYY syndrome—exclusively affecting males—may display impulsive and hyperactive behaviors, but it is not associated with aggression or psychopathy.
However, nearly 200,000 comments on Jiujiu’s post suggested that her child would be “born evil” due to the syndrome, with many advising her to abort the pregnancy.
One commenter on Douyin wrote, “Children with XYY syndrome have a high tendency towards criminal behavior and often resort to violence.”
Another person stated, “I support the abortion. Having this child is like placing a time bomb around everyone.”
Four days later, Jiujiu decided to terminate the pregnancy.
“Given the uncertainties after birth and my situation as an ordinary family, I decided to terminate the pregnancy to be responsible to myself and the unborn child,” she told SCMP.
She also urged social media users not to stigmatize the condition, saying, “I hope people will not stigmatize XYY syndrome. You should understand the reality of this condition from a doctor. Regardless, losing the child is a painful experience for me,” she said.
