BEIJING, February 15, 2013, (AllGirlsAllowed.org) – For the first time since the months following a horrific forced abortion last June, Feng Jianmei sat down with a reporter to share about her journey of recovery.
It's been a tough road.
On June 2, 2012, Chinese officials ambushed Feng. They beat her, blindfolded her, and took her to a clinic where they injected her womb with a chemical solution that terminated her late term pregnancy. She delivered a stillborn child soon after, and workers left the baby on her hospital bed in a plastic bag. A gruesome picture of this incident ignited a global outcry against China's one-child policy.
Since last summer Ms. Feng has moved to another city, both to get medical treatment and to avoid traumatic memories of her former home.
She told Dragon TV (in Mandarin), “I thought that if I changed my living environment, my mood would get better. After I went to Jiangsu province, I felt much better. Before, when people recognized me, it always reminded me of the forced abortion…I had a very uncomfortable feeling.”
Today, Ms. Feng still has persistent medical issues that stem from the forced abortion
“I went to the hospital to get checked a few times,” she said. “When I went to Jiangsu, I also got checked several times. I underwent a small surgery over there. There are still some problems with my body. I’m still in the process of healing. I also take medicine every day.”
The local government initially said they would pay for hospital bills associated with her recovery from the forced abortion, but they have yet to follow through. “They told me about a reimbursement at the beginning,” said Feng, “but they never mention that anymore.”
The two surgeries cost her almost 10,000 RMB (US $1,700).
The injustice of the forced abortion still pains Feng deeply. “Several local government officials lost their jobs and I got compensation, but there is no real winner in this case.”
“We lost the most,” said Feng. “We lost a baby.”
Looking ahead, Feng hopes she can finish her treatment soon and move back to Shaanxi, where her husband, Deng Jiyuan, lives. The medical treatments require that she live hundreds of miles away from him in Jiangsu. Meanwhile, he must keep his job to cover the expenses.
“I hope I can recover soon so my husband and I don’t have to live in different places. I hope he can find a stable job and we can start life again.”
Feng’s husband now has a job in a cement factory, but the local government never signed his job contract. He refuses to be interviewed by the press out of concern that he will lose his job.
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Brian Lee, the executive director of All Girls Allowed, said, “Ms. Feng's update shows how devastating the brutal enforcement of the one-child policy really is. It reveals that the local officials, despite their public apologies last year, are still more concerned about 'saving face' than restoring a family they have wronged in one of the worst ways imaginable.”
Lee urged officials to help, not threaten, Feng's family: “They will 'save face' only when they honor Feng Jianmei and Deng Jiyuan. They will one day have to give an account of their actions before the throne of God; we pray that they would repent and give to Ms. Feng what she rightfully deserves. We also call upon President Xi Jinping to take action against this act of corruption, as part of his pledge to stamp out corruption.”
“But there is hope. We have a God who is bigger than this tragic situation. We believe he will bring healing and justice to Ms. Feng, and we pray that day comes soon,” said Lee.
This article originally appeared on the website of All Girls Allowed and is reprinted with permission.