Forced Abortions in China
Bronx Bombers
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Nationwide outrage continued to grow Thursday in China over a late-term abortion forced upon a woman by local family planning officials, even as authorities pledged to punish those responsible.
Feng Jianmei, 22, was illegally detained on May 30 in rural Shaanxi Province and coerced to undergo the procedure three days later in the seventh month of pregnancy, her husband said.
"I'm angry and want justice," Deng Jiyuan told CNN over the phone. "They forced her to abort our seven-month-old child -- do they deserve to be called Communist Party officials who served the people?"
Deng, a 29-year-old farmer, said he was trying to secure a birth permit up to the last minute but could not afford to pay the fine of 40,000 yuan ($6,300) demanded by the officials. He added that his wife remained traumatized in hospital.
The couple married in 2006 and Feng gave birth to a girl in 2007, local officials said in a statement. Under China's strict family planning law, which limits most married couples to only one child, Feng and Deng are ineligible to have a second child.
Graphic photos taken after the abortion showing a bloody baby lying next to Feng in a hospital bed have been circulating online and shocked Chinese netizens, prompting rare domestic media coverage and public debate on one of the country's most controversial policies.
After initially insisting the operation was voluntary, local officials acknowledged Thursday that the forced abortion was illegal.
"Such action has seriously violated relevant policies and regulations set by the state and provincial family planning authorities, harmed the image of family planning work and caused extremely negative social impact," said a statement released by the Shaanxi Population and Family Planning Commission.
"We have demanded the local government to investigate the case and punish those who are found responsible in accordance with law."
Deng, the husband, told CNN that no officials above the county level had visited the family. He said village leaders who had shown up asked the family "not to hype the incident."
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/14/world/asi ... index.html
Feng Jianmei, 22, was illegally detained on May 30 in rural Shaanxi Province and coerced to undergo the procedure three days later in the seventh month of pregnancy, her husband said.
"I'm angry and want justice," Deng Jiyuan told CNN over the phone. "They forced her to abort our seven-month-old child -- do they deserve to be called Communist Party officials who served the people?"
Deng, a 29-year-old farmer, said he was trying to secure a birth permit up to the last minute but could not afford to pay the fine of 40,000 yuan ($6,300) demanded by the officials. He added that his wife remained traumatized in hospital.
The couple married in 2006 and Feng gave birth to a girl in 2007, local officials said in a statement. Under China's strict family planning law, which limits most married couples to only one child, Feng and Deng are ineligible to have a second child.
Graphic photos taken after the abortion showing a bloody baby lying next to Feng in a hospital bed have been circulating online and shocked Chinese netizens, prompting rare domestic media coverage and public debate on one of the country's most controversial policies.
After initially insisting the operation was voluntary, local officials acknowledged Thursday that the forced abortion was illegal.
"Such action has seriously violated relevant policies and regulations set by the state and provincial family planning authorities, harmed the image of family planning work and caused extremely negative social impact," said a statement released by the Shaanxi Population and Family Planning Commission.
"We have demanded the local government to investigate the case and punish those who are found responsible in accordance with law."
Deng, the husband, told CNN that no officials above the county level had visited the family. He said village leaders who had shown up asked the family "not to hype the incident."
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/14/world/asi ... index.html
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