Graphic Abortion Photos Stir Outrage in China

Steven Ertelt has the report, "China Apologizes, Suspends Officials Over Forced Late-Term Abortion."

And from Independent UK, "Graphic abortion photos prompt outrage at China's one-child law: Shocking images highlight case of woman forced into termination at seven months":

China insists the family planning policy is necessary because the country does not have the resources to deal with a population growing out of control. China is the world's most populous country, with a population of 1.3 billion. The government estimates that more than 400 million births have been prevented by the policy.

The policy is widely despised, and there is pressure to reverse it as China's population is ageing swiftly, prompting fears that there may not be enough young workers to sustain economic growth at current levels for much longer.

The penalty for breaking the rules on planned birth is the imposition of a fine and a loss of benefits such as free education and healthcare, but for many wealthy couples in China this is a price worth paying.

"This was very common in my hometown, even when the baby was close to term, women were forced to abort. Population control is fine, but what about those rich people who are allowed to have eight children," wrote one web commentator from Nanning, referring to a case in December last year when a wealthy couple in Guangdong had eight babies, including several born illegally to surrogates. "In 100 years, or even in 50 years, you will see how ridiculous population control is," a commentator from Ningbo said.

And be sure to read the comment thread from the report at Raw Story, where enlightened progressives are all over the place in denial of the horror and defense of the policy, for example:

You do know that a fetus and newborn baby have no sensations of suffering or satisfaction. Can you imagine the pollution levels in China or the price of oil if there were another 500 million Chinese?