Quotable

"Though the family dropped the civil lawsuit, local prosecutors can still bring criminal charges against the officials involved. It is a crime to force a woman to abort seven months into her pregnancy."

Zhang Kai, a Beijing-based lawyer who represents Feng Jianmei, the victim of a forced abortion in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, commenting on an out-of-court settlement between his client and the local government. Feng will get about 70,000 yuan ($10,990) in compensation from the government.

Feng, 23, was forced to abort her baby seven months into her pregnancy at a local hospital on June 2 as the family refused to pay 40,000 yuan demanded by local family-planning officials as a guarantee for clearing the legal ground for her to have a second child.