92. A Government-Led Kidnapping & Forced Abortion: The Case of Feng Jianmei

Starting in 1979, China enacted a law to limit couples to one child in attempt to control the country’s population. In October of 2011,  Feng Jianmei became pregnant with her second child. There were some exceptions to the one child law. Feng and her husband, Deng Jiyuan, believed they were allowed to have a second child since they had waited 5 years and also lived in a rural area. Local authorities first tried to fine Feng and Deng. They then tried to convince Feng to have an abortion, but she refused. The government tracked Feng down and forced her to have an abortion at 7 months. A photo of Feng and her aborted child went viral, shocking the entire world. China faced scrutiny and would replace their one-child policy with a two-child policy in 2016. https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/03/politics/oklahoma-heartbeat-act-abortion-governor-stitt-signs/index.html https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/5/6/2096338/-In-Tennessee-Plan-B-by-mail-is-now-a-felony-carrying-a-50k-fine https://www.newsweek.com/anger-louisiana-abortion-bill-could-see-women-charged-murder-1704069 https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-gop-senate-candidate-blake-masters-campaigning-against-birth-control-2022-5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-child_policy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_abortion_of_Feng_Jianmei https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/world/asia/chinese-family-in-forced-abortion-case-still-under-pressure.html https://www.npr.org/2012/07/05/156211106/after-a-forced-abortion-a-roaring-debate-in-china https://world.time.com/2012/07/13/china-forced-abortion-victim-awarded-11200-fears-for-life/ https://chrissmith.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2012-07-09_continued_human_rights_attacks_on_families_in_china.pdf