China apologizes for forced late-term Abortion
In a rare move, China has apologized to a woman who was forced to undergo an abortion at seven months of pregnancy and has suspended three family planning officials after gruesome photos of the mother and her dead unborn baby went viral on the Internet.
Chinese and American human rights groups exposed how the woman, Feng Jianmei, was beaten and dragged into a vehicle by a group of family planning officials while her husband, Deng Jiyuan, was out working. The officials asked for RMB 40,000 in fines from Feng Jianmei’s family and, when they did not receive the money, they forcibly aborted Feng at seven months, laying the body of her aborted baby next to her in the bed (pictured right).
The abortion has triggered a chain of angry protests from around the world and the human rights group ChinaAid indicated the family will be represented by an attorney who will press their case.
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The government of Ankang city, where Feng lives in northwest China’s Shaanxi province, said a deputy mayor visited Feng and her husband in the hospital, apologized to them and said officials would be suspended amid an investigation.
“Today, I am here on behalf of the municipal government to see you and express our sincere apology to you. I hope to get your understanding,” Deputy Mayor Du Shouping said, according to a statement on the city government’s website Friday.
The official Xinhua News Agency says three officials would be relieved of their duties: two top local family planning officials and the head of the township government.
Xinhua said Feng was not legally entitled to a second child under China’s one-child limit, but added that late-term abortions are prohibited due to the risk of causing physical injury to the mother.
“The correct way to deal with the case would have been for local officials to allow her to deliver the baby first, and then mete out punishment according to regulations,” the agency quoted an anonymous provincial family planning official as saying.