China backing off from forced late-term abortions?
September 14, 2012
Following a spate of negative publicity, China’s National Population and Family Planning Commission has reportedly called for an end to forced late-term abortion in the Communist nation—a development welcomed by All Girls Allowed, an advocacy group that opposes China’s one-child policy.
However, parents who have a second child still face draconian penalties.
Government minister “Wang Xia’s order to end forced abortion is awesome progress,” said Chai Ling of All Girls Allowed. However, “the policy remains coercive: it still threatens parents with huge fines and job loss for having a second child. Human rights will take a back seat as long as the government continues to use family planning fees as a major revenue source. China cannot genuinely claim that the policy is ‘coercion-free’ until it no longer threatens parents’ livelihoods and ability to provide.”
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