The Ministry of Health recently issued a notice instructing all medical institutions in China to appropriately dispose of dead fetuses based on relevant laws, the Beijing News reports.

Early on March 29, residents and firemen found 21 fetuses and baby bodies dumped under a bridge crossing the Guangfu River on the outskirts of Jining City in East China's Shandong Province. The Jining Municipal Health Bureau explained that the babies, who had died from abortion or disease, had come from the local hospital and were considered medical waste according to the law.

The city government spokesman said later that mortuary workers Zhu Zhenyu and Wang Zhijun have been sacked by the local Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University and detained by police for allegedly reaching verbal agreements with the relatives of the dead babies to dispose of the bodies for a fee.

The ministry demanded in the notice that all medical institutes dispose of fetuses or baby bodies in accordance with legal provisions of the Regulations on Funeral and Interment Control, and are forbidden to dump fetuses or baby bodies as medical waste.

The notice also stressed that the ministry will severely punish similar incidents of dumping dead babies, which disregard the dignity of human life.