China suspended three officials and apologized to a woman who was forced to undergo an abortion seven months into her pregnancy in a case that sparked a public uproar after graphic photos of the mother and her dead baby were circulated online.
The case has renewed criticism of China's widely hated one-child limit, which, while designed to control the country's exploding population, has led to often violently imposed forced abortions and sterilizations as local authorities pursue birth quotas set by Beijing.
Feng Jianmei, 27, was beaten by officials and forced to abort the baby at seven months on June 2 because her family could not afford a 40,000 yuan ($6,300) fine for having a second child, Chinese media reported this week.
Photos of her and the reportedly stillborn baby lying on a hospital bed were posted online and spread widely, triggering a public outpouring of sympathy and outrage.
The government of Ankang city, where Feng lives in northwest China's Shaanxi province, said a deputy mayor visited Feng and her husband in the hospital, apologized to them and said officials would be suspended amid an investigation.
"Today, I am here on behalf of the municipal government to see you and express our sincere apology to you. I hope to get your understanding," Deputy Mayor Du Shouping said, according to a statement on the city government's website Friday.
The official Xinhua News Agency says three officials would be relieved of their duties: two top local family planning officials and the head of the township government.
Xinhua said Feng was not legally entitled to a second child under China's one-child limit, but added that late-term abortions are prohibited.
Critics of the one-child policy point out that it also leads to a dangerously imbalanced sex ratio. Families abort girls out of a traditional preference for male heirs.
The government says the controls have prevented an additional 400 million births in the world's most populous country of 1.3 billion.