Father in forced abortion case wants charges filed

Published November 20, 2014

The father of a forcibly aborted baby wants the Chinese officials responsible to face criminal prosecution and plans to seek government compensation, his lawyer said Friday.

Feng Jianmei, a villager from central China's Shaanxi province, was forced to undergo an abortion seven months into her pregnancy because the family could not afford a 40,000 yuan ($6,300) fine for having a second child, which violated China's tough one-child policy.

The June incident caused a public uproar and renewed criticism against the country's tough family planning rules. Chinese authorities have since apologized and two officials were fired, while five others were sanctioned last week.

The lawyer, Zhang Kai, said he has sent a legal request on behalf of Feng's husband, Deng Jiyuan, asking local police and prosecutors to investigate criminal infractions in the case. Deng also is seeking unspecified compensation from the government, Zhang said.

Feng has been hospitalized with health problems since the abortion, Deng's sister Deng Jicai said. She did not specify what the health problems were.

The family says it was temporarily placed under government surveillance last month and that Deng Jiyuan went into hiding in late June after local officials stopped him from traveling to Beijing.

Deng eventually made it to Beijing to seek legal help, Zhang said.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/world/father-in-forced-abortion-case-wants-charges-filed