"What is painless abortion?" a two-year-old girl asked her mother after seeing some advertisements.

Embarrassed by questions like this, a group of mothers have organized an exhibition to show tens of thousands of brochures advertising abortion, accusing them of "misleading children," in Shijiazhuang, North China's Hebei province.

The mothers, from successful entrepreneurs to ordinary wage earners, protested in a public letter that hospitals aggressively advocated abortions in buses, newspapers and outdoor posters "without any moral sense," China Youth Daily reported.

The vulgar productions flaunted abortion technology, sensationalized entertainment news, and some included obscene pictures that encouraged youths to be open about sex, according to the mothers.

One mother said abortion ads are becoming far too pervasive to be able to avoid in the city, such as on grips in buses and free key chains that have information about hospitals. A total of 18 hospitals are singled out by these mothers, who also blamed local government officials who are reluctant to act.

Some hospitals intentionally targeted students in a dozen colleges and universities in the city by publishing bus routes and promising to offer discounts for people who have a student card, said the mothers who declined to reveal their names.