Chinese family planning officials mistakenly issued a birth certificate for a second child for a pregnant woman in southwest China’s Guangxi province and may now force her to have an abortion as a result.
China uses heavy-handed tactics and human rights abuses to enforce its one-child policy but this error by the local family planning authorities, according to the Beijing Times, may result in another forced abortion.
The publication Want China Times has more on what’s happening there:
The couple’s request for a second child was approved by the local authorities in the provincial capital Nanning in June. The wife later became pregnant, however the couple was then notified by the family planning department that they had made a mistake and they would not grant a permit.
The husband, surnamed Luo, said a family planning official informed them that they had failed to meet the conditions for a second child due to subtle changes in the law, concerning the amount of daughters born in the family.
Previously, a couple could have a second child if the husband was living with his wife’s family that only had daughters but no sons. The amended rule says the wife’s family should have only two daughters and no sons.
As Luo’s wife has more than two sisters, the permit was thus withdrawn. Luo and his wife will face a fine worth dozens of thousands of yuan if they choose to go through with the pregnancy. If they cannot afford to pay the fine, they will have to abort the child, according to Luo.
CLICK LIKE IF YOU’RE PRO-LIFE!
The department admitted they made a mistake and said that they had initially reviewed Luo’s case under the old law and issued them an approval, which is now invalid. The department said there are no references for a solution or compensation for this kind of mistake, with a senior official saying they can only punish the staff member who committed the error.
Luo said he will file a suit if there is no satisfactory solution or compensation.
