A series of disturbing photos showing a woman lying on a hospital bed
next to what was apparently the dead seven-month-old fetus has resulted
in a major uproar in China.
According to ChinaSmack, the 27-year-old named Feng Jianmei had been forced by the local government to abort because she was in violation of the country's one-child limit. When she couldn't afford to pay the fine (approximately $6,300) to have the second child, she was beaten by government officials and forced to abort the baby:
It's still too early to determine whether this incident will lead to the removal of such restrictions. Since the tragedy went viral, three local officials have been suspended and an apology has been made to the woman, although we doubt it will do her any good now.
According to ChinaSmack, the 27-year-old named Feng Jianmei had been forced by the local government to abort because she was in violation of the country's one-child limit. When she couldn't afford to pay the fine (approximately $6,300) to have the second child, she was beaten by government officials and forced to abort the baby:
Feng Jianmei told the reporter that because she could not afford the fine of 40,000 RMB for having a second child, at 9:00 am on June 2nd, she was escorted to a hospital by about 20 to 30 county government employees and at 3:00 pm that day was injected with “poisonous drugs” to induce labor.
She was violently treated on the way to the hospital because she continued to resist and when she was at the hospital, no family members were present to be with her. According to Feng Jianmei, on May 29th, Deng Jiyuan [Feng Jianmei’s husband] had left home and was on his way to Inner Mongolia. On May 30th, the county government began sending people over, in four-man four-hour shifts, to guard her. On June 1st, using the excuse of “going grocery shopping”, she escaped to Deng Jiyuan’s aunt’s place to go into hiding, but was ultimately found later that same evening. The county government employees then used bricks to block the door to prevent her from escaping. The next morning, they escorted her to the hospital.
While is not the first time that very late-term forced abortions have
been reported, the photos might have served to make family planning
officials an even bigger target of hatred by people who oppose the
one-child limit rule. Additionally, Chinese law does not allow abortions to take place after six months, because of the risks posed to the mother, yet the local government still went ahead with the abortion. She was violently treated on the way to the hospital because she continued to resist and when she was at the hospital, no family members were present to be with her. According to Feng Jianmei, on May 29th, Deng Jiyuan [Feng Jianmei’s husband] had left home and was on his way to Inner Mongolia. On May 30th, the county government began sending people over, in four-man four-hour shifts, to guard her. On June 1st, using the excuse of “going grocery shopping”, she escaped to Deng Jiyuan’s aunt’s place to go into hiding, but was ultimately found later that same evening. The county government employees then used bricks to block the door to prevent her from escaping. The next morning, they escorted her to the hospital.
It's still too early to determine whether this incident will lead to the removal of such restrictions. Since the tragedy went viral, three local officials have been suspended and an apology has been made to the woman, although we doubt it will do her any good now.
