Rule of law should force officials to abandon demand for abortions

The government of Lanling county, East China's Shandong province, is reportedly requiring village officials for a certain number of abortions every month, or the lower officials will be fined. The central family planning authorities said they had no idea about the incident and would investigate. Comments:

The barbaric deeds of the family planning bureaucrats in Lanling shows how cruel unlimited power can be. The law has never authorized any government agency to force pregnant women to abort; but in reality some family planning officials have been practicing that. The central leadership vows to strengthen the rule of law and we expect the move can prevent some officials from continuing acting like bandits.

Beijing News, May 24