Photograph of woman with aborted foetus sparks fury in China
Debate over family planning laws reignited over claims that young woman in Shaanxi province was forced into termination
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Feng Jianmei in hospital in China, where she was allegedly forced to abort her seven-month-old foetus because she couldn't afford the 40,000 yuan fine. (NB - foetus not shown). Photograph: Rex Features
A graphic photograph of a young Chinese woman lying beside the body of her aborted seven-month-old foetus has roused fury over forced abortions in the country.
National and provincial authorities say they are investigating claims that family planning officials in Zengjia town, in the north-western Shaanxi province, coerced Feng Jianmei into the termination.
While forced abortions and sterilisations are illegal in China, experts have blamed recurrent abuses on the pressure on officials to meet the strict birth control targets. Chen Guangcheng, the blind legal activist who fled to the US embassy after years of imprisonment and house arrest, fell foul of authorities in the eastern Shandong province for his work in supporting victims.
Feng's case sparked outrage after a picture of the 22-year-old lying beside the aborted baby circulated widely on Chinese websites and microblogs. "It is not abortion. It is obviously murder!" said one comment. "Don't stain the family planning policies through forced abortions," said another.
Feng's husband, Deng Jiyuan, said Feng was "sad and distressed" after being hooded, abducted and forcibly injected to induce the abortion. The couple had failed to meet demands for 40,000 yuan for breaking birth control rules, he told the South China Morning Post.
"That's more than what I earned in four years … We don't have that much money," he said.
Zhenping family-planning authorities said on Monday that Feng agreed to the abortion "after repeated persuasion". But Feng told Radio Free Asia: "No, it wasn't [with my consent]. It was forced. That's what happened."
Deng added: "Several people pushed her into a car and then drove her to the hospital. My family was barred from seeing her. She would not consent to the procedure, so they forced her to put her fingerprint from her left hand on a document."
Deng said he wrote about the case online after his complaints to local officials appeared to have no effect. Most urban families are allowed to have one child, while rural families can usually have a second if their first is a girl.
The couple have one daughter, aged five. But an official from the Zhenping family planning department said Feng had an urban household registration, or 'hukou'.
"She would need to transfer her hukou to our township first before having the baby. The money [40,000 yuan] was charged as a deposit for the transfer and would have been paid back if her family had done so," Yuan Fang told China Radio International.
A media officer with the National Population and Family Planning Commission told the English language edition of the state-run Global Times that it was investigating. "We're trying to get the whole story. If it's true, local family planning authorities will surely be punished severely," said the officer.
Shaanxi family planning officials said in a statement on their website that a team had been sent to the area to investigate. They also issued a statement saying that the rights of pregnant women should be respected and that late-term abortions were prohibited.
Last year, relatives of a 37-year-old woman said she died after she was forced to have a late-term abortion in eastern Shandong province. A statement on the Lijin government website said Ma Jihong died in a "labour-inducing operation", and it was investigating the case, vowing to punish any officials found guilty of professional misconduct. But as of earlier this year no investigation results had been announced and Lijin officials did not respond to queries on Thursday.
National and provincial authorities say they are investigating claims that family planning officials in Zengjia town, in the north-western Shaanxi province, coerced Feng Jianmei into the termination.
While forced abortions and sterilisations are illegal in China, experts have blamed recurrent abuses on the pressure on officials to meet the strict birth control targets. Chen Guangcheng, the blind legal activist who fled to the US embassy after years of imprisonment and house arrest, fell foul of authorities in the eastern Shandong province for his work in supporting victims.
Feng's case sparked outrage after a picture of the 22-year-old lying beside the aborted baby circulated widely on Chinese websites and microblogs. "It is not abortion. It is obviously murder!" said one comment. "Don't stain the family planning policies through forced abortions," said another.
Feng's husband, Deng Jiyuan, said Feng was "sad and distressed" after being hooded, abducted and forcibly injected to induce the abortion. The couple had failed to meet demands for 40,000 yuan for breaking birth control rules, he told the South China Morning Post.
"That's more than what I earned in four years … We don't have that much money," he said.
Zhenping family-planning authorities said on Monday that Feng agreed to the abortion "after repeated persuasion". But Feng told Radio Free Asia: "No, it wasn't [with my consent]. It was forced. That's what happened."
Deng added: "Several people pushed her into a car and then drove her to the hospital. My family was barred from seeing her. She would not consent to the procedure, so they forced her to put her fingerprint from her left hand on a document."
Deng said he wrote about the case online after his complaints to local officials appeared to have no effect. Most urban families are allowed to have one child, while rural families can usually have a second if their first is a girl.
The couple have one daughter, aged five. But an official from the Zhenping family planning department said Feng had an urban household registration, or 'hukou'.
"She would need to transfer her hukou to our township first before having the baby. The money [40,000 yuan] was charged as a deposit for the transfer and would have been paid back if her family had done so," Yuan Fang told China Radio International.
A media officer with the National Population and Family Planning Commission told the English language edition of the state-run Global Times that it was investigating. "We're trying to get the whole story. If it's true, local family planning authorities will surely be punished severely," said the officer.
Shaanxi family planning officials said in a statement on their website that a team had been sent to the area to investigate. They also issued a statement saying that the rights of pregnant women should be respected and that late-term abortions were prohibited.
Last year, relatives of a 37-year-old woman said she died after she was forced to have a late-term abortion in eastern Shandong province. A statement on the Lijin government website said Ma Jihong died in a "labour-inducing operation", and it was investigating the case, vowing to punish any officials found guilty of professional misconduct. But as of earlier this year no investigation results had been announced and Lijin officials did not respond to queries on Thursday.