CHANGSHA, Hunan Province, China, March 18, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Cao Ruyi, a Chinese woman who was spared a forced abortion last June when she was five months pregnant, is thankful her baby boy is alive and well – but the couple still faces the grim prospect of persecution from the totalitarian state apparatus.
Last June, Chinese officials burst into the home of Ruyi, who was then 37, after learning she was expecting. Ruyi said that three men dragged her away. “I said, 'Where are you taking me?'” she recounted. “None of them uttered a word in reply.” Her husband, Li Fu, said that she was “dragged by more than a dozen government family planning officials and security guards” out of their home to a hospital in Changsha city.
After they got to the hospital, the men began dragging the exhausted woman again. Li Fu tried to stop the brutal treatment again. “One of the men became violent toward me and hit me on my shoulders twice with his fist.”
Due to the lack of beds and Ruyi's health ailments, a forced abortion was postponed. Instead, she was kept under house arrest at a nearby hotel.
Click “like” if you are PRO-LIFE!
That's when human rights activists sprang into action.
ChinaAid's Bob Fu notified Rep. Christopher Smith, R-NJ, an outspoken pro-life activist and supporter of human rights in China.
On June 7, Congressman Smith sent a letter demanding Chinese pressure for an abortion end. Ruyi said the letter sparked backlash and veiled threats that members of the People's Liberation Army might attack her.
But the letter bought time. International volunteers from Women's Rights in China transferred her to a safe location, where she gave birth to a baby boy on October 12.
“I named our child Li Dahai, which means, 'Our help came from overseas,'” Ruyi said.
A new online video shows the happy couple playing with their child. The video states that the boy is the couple's only child, although reports from last June indicated that the two already had a six-year-old daughter.
Li Fu signed a letter thanking Congressman Smith for all his work, which was delivered earlier this month.
However, the couple faces retribution from a system that rarely loses face, especially on the international stage. They face a $15,000 fine and the possibility that their child's birth will not be registered.
ChinaAid explains, “In China's authoritarian system, this means his existence is not recognized by the government and he cannot get a government-issued identification card, which is required for all basic activities of a citizen, including attending school, opening a bank account and even getting medical care.”
“I'm concerned about the child's future household registration,” Ruyi said.
Contact:
Changsha County Maternal and Child Health Hospital (People’s Hospital in Changsha County)
No. 53 Xiangchun Road, Changsha City, Hunan Province
Phone: +86-731-8433-2238 or +86-731-8406-9120
24-Hour Line: +86-731-8401-1900
Email: [email protected]
Congressman Christopher Smith
Washington, DC Office
2373 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
p 202-225-3765
f 202-225-7768