LIFE DIGEST: Mother faces forced abortion in China
- Nov 18, 2008 - 6
A woman who is six months pregnant is facing a forced abortion in a Chinese hospital after a failed escape to protect her unborn child.
Arzigul Tursun, a mother of two, is awaiting an abortion she opposes while under guard in a hospital in Xinjiang, a vast region in the northwest part of the world’s most populous country, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA). As a Uyghur Muslim, Tursun is permitted to have two children under China’s coercive population control program, but government officials have enforced the policy on her third child. She is 26 weeks into her pregnancy.
Tursun fled Water Gate Hospital in Yining Nov. 16 but was captured the next day at a relative’s home, RFA reported. She was taken to Women and Children’s Welfare Hospital in Ili and once again placed under guard, according to the report.
A pro-life congressman is protesting the apparently imminent abortion.
“The Chinese government is notorious for this barbaric practice, but to forcibly abort a woman while the world watches in full knowledge of what is going on would make a mockery of its claim that the central government disapproves of the practice . . . ,” said Rep. Chris Smith, R.-N.J., who sent a direct appeal to Zhou Wenzhong, China’s ambassador to the United States. “Human rights groups and the U.S. government will be watching very carefully to see what happens to Arzigul and her family.”
China’s population control policy, which has been in place since 1979, has been marked by forced abortions and sterilizations. Infanticide, especially of females, also has been reported. In addition to abortions and sterilizations, penalties for violations of the policy have included fines, arrests and the destruction of homes.
China’s policy generally limits couples in urban areas to one child and those in rural areas to two, if the first is a girl. Uyghurs, a Turkic-speaking ethic group, and other minorities living in rural areas are allowed three children, but those from cities are permitted only two, according to Xinhua, China’s official news agency, RFA reported. Tursun is from a rural area, but her husband, Nurmemet Tohtasin, is from a city.
The coercive program has helped produce a gender imbalance in the world’s most populous country, with many girls being aborted in order to enable a male baby to be born later. China had 120 males born for every 100 females in 2005, according to the United Nations Population Fund.
Appeals court rejects Illinois’ ‘Choose Life’ plate
The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled the state of Illinois does not have to issue a “Choose Life” license plate, though advocates for the specialty auto tag met the legal requirements.
A three-judge panel of the appeals court overturned a federal judge’s 2007 ruling, which said the Illinois secretary of State had discriminated based on the pro-life viewpoint of the license plate.
The three-judge panel ruled specialty plates are not government speech but the state has the authority to control the content of the plates if the restrictions are reasonable. Illinois has excluded the abortion issue from specialty plates “on the reasonable rationale that messages on specialty license plates give the appearance of having the government’s endorsement, and Illinois does not wish to be perceived as endorsing any position on the subject of abortion,” judge Diane Sykes wrote.
Thomas Brejcha, chief counsel of the Thomas More Society, said he was “very disappointed” by the decision.
“Illinois has approved an entire variety of other specialty plates for pet friendly, pro-organ donation, environmental issues and peace birds,” said Brejcha, whose organization represents Choose Life Illinois in the case. “No one ever sought approval or issuance of a “Pro-Choice” plate; we would have no objection to such a plate if sufficient persons signed petitions for it.”
Choose Life plans to seek a rehearing by the Seventh Circuit. If that fails, it will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, Brejcha said.
Choose Life Illinois collected the signatures of more than 25,000 Illinois residents for the pro-life plate, far exceeding the number needed. Legislative approval for a specialty plate was not required when Choose Life submitted the signatures. The secretary of State, however, referred Choose Life to the legislature, since it normally had approved such plates before they were issued. Since then, an amendment has been adopted requiring legislative approval before new specialty plates are issued.
Oklahoma ultrasound law blocked
A judge has blocked enforcement of an Oklahoma law that requires the performance of an ultrasound on any woman seeking an abortion.
Oklahoma County District Judge Vicki Robertson granted a temporary injunction Oct. 31 to prevent the measure from taking effect, according to The Daily Oklahoman. A court hearing on the injunction is expected to be held in February, the newspaper reported. The new law was to become effective Nov. 1.
The law requires a medical worker to perform an ultrasound on a woman seeking an abortion, display the image of the unborn child and explain the sonogram. The mother is not required to view the image.
Nova Health Systems, parent company to Tulsa’s Reproductive Services, requested the injunction. A Center for Reproductive Rights attorney representing Nova said the law likely would put the Tulsa clinic out of business, The Oklahoman reported. The clinic performs about 200 abortions a month.
The law’s sponsor, Rep. Pam Peterson, R.-Tulsa, expressed disappointment at the court decision.
“The more information women have the more empowered they are,” she said, according to The Oklahoman. “This is really a stalling technique because it’s all about money. . . . The abortion industry sees this bill as thwarting their profits.”
In April, the Oklahoma legislature overrode a veto by Democratic Gov. Brad Henry to enact the measure, which the National Right to Life Committee described as the best ultrasound law in the country.
Pregnancy care centers have reported dramatic upswings in clients choosing to give birth after viewing ultrasound images of their babies.
Abortion bill vetoed in Uruguay
Uruguay’s president has vetoed a bill that would have legalized abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
President Tabare Vazquez vetoed the legislation Nov. 13, two days after the Uruguayan Senate approved it in a 17-13 vote. It appears the votes are lacking for an override of the veto, BBC News reported.
“Our laws cannot ignore the reality of the existence of human life in the gestation period, as scientific evidence clearly shows,” said Vazquez, a physician, in a written statement, according to BBC. “It’s more appropriate to look for a solution based on solidarity, giving a woman the freedom to make other choices and thereby save both her and the baby.”
The legislation would have permitted abortion in such cases as the extreme poverty of the mother and a threat to the health of the mother or baby.
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission works to protect the sanctity of human life. If you would like to learn more about this issue, additional resources are available here. If your church is interested in purchasing bulletin inserts or other materials on the sanctity of human life, please visit our online bookstore and erlc.com.
Further Learning
Learn more about: Life, Abortion, Citizenship, Human Rights
6 comments (post your own) feed
1 On Nov 18th, 2008, at 6:20pm, david graves wrote:
i can’t believe anyone could support china in any way, knowing these evils happen! i am sickened by this and know God is too. it’s time 4 the U.S. too refuse to have any trade or business with them until this is stopped! unfortunately this will not happen because they basically own us already.I will pray for this woman and all involved 4 God to have mercy and stop it.
2 On Nov 19th, 2008, at 9:51am, jeanne wrote:
I feel so helpless for this woman to be forced to have an abortion. Have mercy on us Oh Lord! What can I do? I will join others to pray for her, her family and this little innocent life that is threatened! How can I make my voice heard?
3 On Nov 19th, 2008, at 10:10am, Kat wrote:
This is horrible. I can’t imagine what this mother must be experiencing to know that her 6 month old baby, kicking and wriggling within, is facing death. How ironic for one of our congressman to voice an ultimatum of sorts to another country while we murder ao many little ones in this country everyday! Does it only make abortion wrong when it is forced on an unwilling parent in full view of the world’s eyes? I certainly believe we should make known our outrage whenever and wherever wrong is practiced, even in our own home/nation. I have to wonder, though, is China going to take this protest seriously or just laugh at our two-faced ideology!
4 On Nov 19th, 2008, at 10:24am, Charles Enlow wrote:
If this woman were so fortunate as to escape to the U.S. and apply for refugee status, to save the life of her unborn child and to avoid her government’s imposition of its will upon her, she would not be accepted and would be deported back to China. This is not a hypothetical situation; it has happened. Alexis de Toqueville said that “America is great because America is good.” What would he say today?
5 On Nov 20th, 2008, at 11:37am, Robert wrote:
I am from Oklahoma, so the article about my state was particularly interesting. In the article is found, “Nova Health Systems, parent company to Tulsa’s Reproductive Services, requested the injunction. A Center for Reproductive Rights attorney representing Nova said the law likely would put the Tulsa clinic out of business, The Oklahoman reported. The clinic performs about 200 abortions a month.”
This is 2400 abortions per year at this one clinic alone. Am I supposed to feel bad that this bill could possibly put an end to this travesty? I feel bad for the 2400 innocent deaths.
6 On Nov 22nd, 2008, at 12:22pm, Douglass Opie wrote:
China’s policies to limit and eliminate life are sadly atrocious, as is abortion in America. We must pray fervently and do what we can to support protection for all life from conception to natural death. We can also exercise our rights to contact our representatives, vote for people who hold to Biblical values we cherish and support organizations that work hard in these regards.