Row over abortion ordeal

What?

What happened? A mainland woman, Feng Jianmei, was forced to have an abortion earlier this month. She had been seven months pregnant and pictures of her in hospital with her baby's body circulated on the internet. They caused outrage among netizens. Last week, her husband was beaten, and angry villagers, led by local officials, marched to the hospital to condemn her. Later her husband was headed to Beijing to give a media interview, only to go missing. He phoned his wife only on Tuesday to say he was OK. Since then the government has fired several people and punished others connected to this incident.

Who?

Who is involved? Feng, 22, was in hospital with her five-year-old daughter and sister-in-law, Deng Jicai . Her husband, Deng Jiyuan , refused to say where he was. Two county-level or lower officials were fired, and five others received a warning or demerit.

Why?

Why was she forced to have an abortion? Feng and her husband have a five-year-old daughter. Under the mainland's one-child policy, she cannot have any more children. However, it is against the law to force a woman to have an abortion. Even the government has condemned what happened to her.

Where?

Where did this happen? The family is from the village of Yuping in Zhenping County, in Shaanxi province. The media reports that officials from Ankang city, which administrates Zhenping County, had visited Feng and apologised to her.

When?

When did it happen? The abortion was performed on June 2.

How?

How has this affected people on the mainland? It has once again raised the issue of the one-child policy and the methods used to enforce it.