Family planning row means woman must choose between job and second child

A five-month-old fetus may be forcibly aborted due to differing second-child family planning rules between a woman's work place and registered residence, thepaper.cn reported on Monday.

Qin Yi, a high school teacher in Libo county, Southwest China's Guizhou province, received an order from local family planning and education authorities last Tuesday to abort before May 31 or face the sack.

The order came as a shock to Qin who had received a birth permit three months earlier from Huangshan, East China's Anhui province, where her hukou (permanent residence permit) is registered.

Anhui allows couples in second marriages to have a second child, while Guizhou does not have a specific regulation in this regard and local authorities have the final say.

Family planning and education authorities in Libo county ruled that the couple could not have a second child, said Wu Dongmei, head of the discipline inspection group of the county's education bureau.

Qin must obey the regulation implemented at her work place, said Wu.

Since China allowed couples to have a second child if either parent is an only child, many regions have changed regulations. However local rules differ on whether a couple in a second marriage can have a second child.

Wu suggested two ways for Qin to keep the baby: Either transfer her job to Anhui or get special approval from provincial level family planning authorities.

"It is not easy to find a teacher's post in Anhui," said Qin. She plans to strive for special approval but if that fails will give birth at the cost of her job.

The case has triggered overwhelming online fury.

A microblogger, named Litchi_Liu, said: "A colleague of mine is also about to abort, because she has to make a choice between a job and a child! It is so cruel!"

Another netizen, named Lvbaibai, questions the reason behind the abortion by saying: "It is a life!"

But there are some netizens with a different view. A microblogger, named marmot who loves study, said China lacks resources and a large population may put stress on the social security system.