Forced abortion of Feng Jianmei

In October 2011, Feng Jianmei, a 22-year-old woman from Yuping village in Zeng Jia Township, Shaanxi province, became pregnant with her second child. She and her husband, Deng Jiyuan, believed they qualified for an exemption to China's one-child policy because they had waited five years between children and lived in a rural area. County officials disputed this, saying Feng lacked the required local household registration (hukou) and was not entitled to a second child.

In late May 2012, local family-planning officials pressured Feng to have an abortion, first attempting persuasion and then pursuing her when she fled to relatives' homes. After evading officials for over a day by hiding in hillside brush, Feng was eventually found and taken to a hospital on June 2, 2012, according to witnesses with a pillowcase placed over her head. At the hospital, she was made to sign a consent document and was restrained while injected with an abortion-inducing drug. She delivered a stillborn girl on June 4. Feng was reported to be severely traumatized afterward, remaining hospitalized for weeks with headaches and reportedly attempting suicide multiple times.

Separately, officials pressured Deng Jiyuan to pay a fine that rose from an initial demand of 100,000 yuan to a final demand of 40,000 yuan "social maintenance fee." When the family could not pay, authorities proceeded with the abortion regardless.

On June 11, Feng's sister-in-law, Deng Jicai, and family members posted photographs online showing Feng in a hospital bed beside the body of her stillborn child, along with images of threatening text messages sent by officials. The images spread rapidly on Sina Weibo and other Chinese social media, generating widespread public outrage and drawing coverage from international outlets including the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, and the Associated Press.

In response to the public attention, the Shaanxi Provincial Population and Family Planning Commission opened an investigation approximately ten days after the abortion. Three officials were suspended on June 14, and the Ankang city government issued a formal apology to the Deng family. On June 26, the investigation concluded that while Feng was not legally entitled to a second child, her rights had been violated by local officials, who had no legal basis to demand the 40,000 yuan fee. The head of the Zhenping family-planning bureau and one other official were dismissed, and five other government and hospital employees were disciplined. On June 27, the National Population and Family Planning Commission announced nationwide inspections of local family-planning enforcement practices.

Deng Jiyuan retained lawyer Zhang Kai to pursue criminal charges against the officials involved, but on July 10, 2012, the family agreed to settle out of court for approximately 70,600 yuan, with local authorities also committing to cover future medical costs related to the abortion. Family members reported ongoing surveillance and harassment by local officials and associated individuals in the weeks following the case's exposure.

The case drew international criticism, including a European Parliament resolution on July 5, 2012 condemning both Feng's treatment and forced abortion generally, and a hearing before the Human Rights Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives on July 9, 2012. The incident intensified domestic and international scrutiny of China's one-child policy, which was replaced by a two-child policy effective January 1, 2016.