City officials in China have
apologised to a woman who was forced to have an abortion and suspended three
people responsible, state media reports.
This came after photos showing a
foetus and the mother, Feng Jianmei, shocked web users.
She was made to undergo the
procedure in Shaanxi province in the seventh month of pregnancy, local
officials said after investigating.
Chinese law clearly prohibits
abortions beyond six months.
The Ankang city government said it
decided to suspend three officials in Zhenping county following initial
investigations. It also urged the county government to conduct a thorough
review of its family planning operations, said Xinhua news.
On Thursday night, the city
officials apologised to Ms Feng, 27, and her family, the report said.
She was ''forced to terminate her
pregnancy'' at a hospital in Zhenping on 2 June, said Xinhua.
Officials in Zhenping county claimed
she agreed to the abortion because she was not allowed to have a second child
by law. She already has a daughter, born in 2007.
But activists said she was forced
into the abortion as she could not pay the fine for having a second child.
'Violence against women'
Rights groups say China's one-child
policy has meant women being coerced into abortions, which Beijing denies.
"Feng Jianmei's story
demonstrates how the One-Child Policy continues to sanction violence against
women every day," said Chai Ling of the US-based activist group All Girls
Allowed.
The group says it spoke to Ms Feng
and her husband Deng Jiyuan after the incident. Mr Deng said his wife had been
forcibly taken to hospital and restrained before the procedure.
Media reports from China says Ms
Feng has been traumatised by what has happened.
The photos sparked outrage among
Internet users.
"This is what they say the
Japanese devils and Nazis did. But it's happening in reality and it is by no
means the only case... They [the officials] should be executed," one
reader on news website netease.com said, according to the AFP news agency.
Activist Chen Guangcheng, who was
put under virtual house arrest for campaigning against forced abortions, fled
China to the US last month.