Jing'an District People's Court will be the first in Shanghai to
interpret a portion of China's new Population and Family Planning
Law that grants both a husband and wife the right to decide if they
want to abort a fetus.
It
has agreed to hear a dispute between Huangpu Yingzi, who underwent
an abortion early this month, and her estranged husband Zheng
Zhichuan, who fought to stop the procedure.
The case stems out of messy divorce proceedings that began in July
when Huangpu, then two months pregnant, told her husband of eight
months that she wanted to end the marriage.
He
refused to sign the divorce papers and said he told her not to have
an abortion. She disputes his story. "He said he didn't like the
child and never planned to have one," said Huangpu.
The 30-year-old went to the hospital in July to abort the baby, but
was turned away because the hospital said she didn't have her
husband's consent.
She returned to the hospital on September 2 and told doctors that
she was single. Her parents backed up her story and the fetus was
aborted.
But as the abortion was done after the new law was enacted, Zheng
is allowed to sue on the basis that his rights to decide whether or
not to abort the fetus was ignored.
The dispute raised interesting questions about contradictions in
Chinese law.
The new law for the first time protects men's rights to prevent an
abortion, but the women's rights protection regulations give women
the right to decide whether or not to have a baby, said Xiong
Limin, an attorney with Shanghai Siwei Law Firm.
If
a woman has an abortion without a proper reason - such as a medical
problem - she has to get her husband's agreement or he can sue for
damages, he added. Court officials expect the case to end with
Huangpu paying compensation to Zheng.
(eastday.com September 18,
2002)