Local officials involved in the gruesome forced abortion case in Shaanxi have been punished, including the head of family planning in the county, who was dismissed. The Los Angeles Times reports:
The scandal erupted this month after graphic photos of the grieving mother and her aborted seven-month fetus spread online. The case in Shaanxi province, west of Beijing, drew new anger over the enforcement of family-planning rules, even bringing condemnation from a newspaper linked to the Communist Party.
Following the outcry, a municipal government investigation found that forcing the young woman to terminate her pregnancy so late in its term violated her rights, the official Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday. The township also illegally demanded an approximately $6,200 payment for a certificate allowing her to have a second child, which her family did not pay, the report stated.
The investigation found that officials “used crude means to violate her intentions,” Xinhua reported.
The head of family planning in Zhenping county has been removed from his post, Xinhua reported. Other township, county and hospital officials were also punished, including another Zhenping family-planning official, who was given “administrative demerits,” the news agency reported.
The victim’s family has reportedly been harassed and threatened since news of the abortion went viral online.
