Nine months ago, a photo showing Feng Jiamei and her aborted seven-month fetus has sparked outrage in China and around the world over China's one-child policy.
Jiamei, from Shaanxi province, was made to undergo the procedure in the seventh month of pregnancy, as she could not pay the fine for having a second child.
For the first time since the tragedy happened in last June, Feng sat down with a reporter from Dragon TV to share about her long journey of recovery.
Ms. Feng has moved to another city, both to get medical treatment and to avoid traumatic memories of her former home.
Feng told Dragon TV, "I thought that if I changed my living environment, I would feel 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."
She underwent a small surgery in Jiangsu after the forced abortion, "There are still some problems with my body. I’m still in the process of healing. I also take medicine every day." said Feng.
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).
But no matter what the government do, it still cannot compensate for what she has lost. "We lost the most," said Feng. "We lost a baby."
Brian Lee, the Executive Director of All Girls Allowed, said in the press release, "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.
All Girls Allowed was founded by Chai Ling in 2010 with a mission to display the love of Jesus by restoring life, value and dignity to girls and mothers in China and revealing the injustice of the One-Child Policy.
