WRWF Lodges Complaint at United Nations Against Forced Abortion and Gendercide in China

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

Women’s Rights Without Frontiers today lodged the following “Complaint Concerning Coercive Population Control” with the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women:

To the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW):

I am the founder and president of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, a non-profit, non-partisan international coalition to combat forced abortion, gendercide and sexual slavery in China. I write to complain about coercive family planning in China.

As you know, WRWF has submitted Complaints for the past two years. While the UNCSW acknowledged receipt of these Complaints, China has never responded to them. We believe that, given the international outrage generated by forced abortion and gendercide in China, it behooves China to respond to our official Complaints.

UNCSW’s “Agreed Conclusions” Condemn Coercive Family Planning

The UNCSW’s topic for this year was “Elimination and Prevention of All Forms of Violence Against Women and Girls.” There is no greater violence against women than forced abortion, up to the ninth month of pregnancy. As demonstrated in the cases set forth below, the women themselves sometimes die as a result of these violent procedures. There is no greater violence against girls than gendercide, which has claimed up to 200 million lives of girls selected for abortion solely because they are girls.

Women’s Rights Without Frontiers was honored to make four presentations about forced abortion and gendercide in China at the UNCSW in March of this year. At three of them, we screened the “It’s a Girl” film, the authoritative documentary about gendercide in India and China. While WRWF does not support all the “Agreed Conclusions” that came out of the UNCSW 2013, we do commend the following language:

34. The Commission urges government, at all levels, and as appropriate, with the relevant entities of the United Nations system, international and regional organizations . . . to take the following actions:

. . . .

(aaa) Condemn and take action to prevent violence against women and girls in health-care settings, including . . . forced medical procedures, or those conducted without informed consent, and which may be irreversible, such as forced hysterectomy, forced caesarean section, forced sterilization, forced abortion, and forced use of contraceptives . . .[1]

These Agreed Conclusions represent the acknowledgement that forced medical procedures are a form of violence against women and call for an international condemnation of such procedures. WRWF feels that the voices of hundreds of millions of suffering Chinese women and girls were heard by the UNCSW, and for this we are grateful.

At the same time, these Agreed Conclusions are but the first step to end this form of gender violence. While the Agreed Conclusions condemn coercive family planning in the form of forced medical procedures, they take no stand on gendercide, the sex-selective abortion, abandonment and fatal neglect of baby girls. If the UNCSW stands for women’s rights, it must take a stand against the selective abortion of up to 200 million baby girls.

The Chinese government, moreover, is the major perpetrator in the world of “forced medical procedures” of the kind set forth in the UNCSW Agreed Conclusions. The UNCSW should put teeth into its Agreed Conclusions by presenting this Complaint to the Chinese government and requiring a response.

WRWF Calls for an Investigation of UNFPA

The UNCSW, moreover, should follow its own advice to “condemn and take action to prevent violence against women . . .” by thoroughly investigating the activities of the UNFPA in China. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell found the UNFPA to be complicit with coercive family planning in China. WRWF believes that any independent investigation of the UNFPA’s current practices would arrive at the same conclusion.

The UNCSW would not be the first to undertake such an investigation. In a striking blow against China’s One Child Policy, the European Parliament passed a resolution strongly condemning forced abortion and involuntary sterilization in China and globally, citing Feng Jianmei, who was forcibly aborted at seven months in June, 2012. Specifically, the resolution, 2012/2712 (RSP) “strongly condemns the decision to force Ms. Feng to have an abortion and condemns the practice of forced abortions and sterilizations globally, especially in the context of the one–child policy.” The resolution further states that “the EU has provided, and still provides, funds for organizations involved in family planning policies in China,” and “urges the Commission to ensure that its funding of projects does not breach” the European Parliament’s commitment against coercive population control.

It is significant that the European Parliament has acknowledged that it provides funding for family planning in China and has urged the Commission to ensure that this funding is not associated with coercion.  For decades, the UNFPA has worked hand in hand with the Chinese population control machine, which is coercive.  We have no doubt that any unbiased investigation by the European Parliament, the United Nations, or any other governmental body will reveal that UNFPA is complicit with coercive family planning in China. The UNCSW should likewise undertake such an investigation.

The One Child Policy causes more violence against women and girls than any other official policy on earth.

It is China’s war on women. Any discussion of women’s rights, or human rights, would be a charade if forced abortion in China is not front and center. It does not matter whether you are pro-life or pro-choice on this issue. No one supports forced abortion, because it is not a choice. Here is a video in which former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, strongly condemns coercive family planning in China. http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=hillary_clinton

This violence became increasingly evident in the past year, giving rise to both international and domestic criticism of the One Child Policy. We had hoped that when President Xi Jinping succeeded former President Hu Jintao, we would see reform of violent family planning practices. Unfortunately, such has not been the case.

To the contrary, just this year there has been much suffering caused by the One Child Policy.  We are aware that the cases that make it to the West are just the tip of the iceberg.  For every family that posts their experience of heartbreak on the internet, there are thousands or millions that suffer silently. Every month has brought a fresh atrocity:

  • On January 14, 2013, Wang Xia, the Chair of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, stated that China “must unwaveringly adhere to the One Child Policy as a national policy to stabilize the low birth rate as the primary task.”  See, “Chinese Official Plans to Keep the One Child Policy, Says Maintaining Low Birth Rate is a Priority.”  http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=904
  • On February 4, 2013, Family Planning Officials got into an argument with a couple who had three children.  In the tussle that followed, these Officials ran over the couple’s thirteen month old baby with their car, killing him.  See, “Father’s Interview about baby crushed to death during One Child Policy enforcement confirms violent coercion.”  http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=938
  • On March 14, 2013, it was reported that Yang Yuzhi hung herself in the Family Planning Office of Beizhanglou Village, Taikang County, Henan Province.  Forcibly sterilized twice, she had for years suffered chronic pain from these traumatic procedures.  Her medication drained the family finances, so she regularly petitioned the Family Planning Office for compensation, to no avail.  Yang’s death also emphasizes the absence of the rule of law in China.  She died while petitioning for justice.  See, “Woman’s death by hanging at Family Planning Office – Suicide or Something Else?  [Warning, Graphic Photo],”  http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=986
  • On April 24, 2013, Congressman Chris Smith and Women’s Rights Without Frontiers attempted to deliver to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC 200,000 signatures on petitions against forced abortion and gendercide in China.  The Embassy would not open its door to accept the signatures, but rather refused them.  See, “Chinese Embassy refuses petition on gendercide, forced abortion in China.”  http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=1109
  • On April 25, 2013, the relatives of blind forced abortion opponent Chen Guangcheng received death threats.  Chen’s nephew, Chen Kegui, had acute appendicitis, for which he was not allowed out of the prison for possible surgery.  Kegui had been detained in 2012 for defending himself with a kitchen knife when government thugs attacked him and his family upon the discovery that Chen Guangcheng had escaped.  See, “Blind activist Chen Guangcheng’s relatives receive death threats.” http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=1058
    • On May 15, 2013, in Xinyi City, Jiangsu Province, more than 20 Family Planning Officials beat a farmer almost to death, because he and his wife have three children.  Zhang Futao suffered severe head injuries and is in critical condition from the beating.  According to the family, he has a fractured skull and a brain hemorrhage. His three children are ages 12, 6 and 4.  See, “Family Planning Officials Fracture Skull of Family of Three.”  http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=1136
  • On May 29, 2013, it was reported that a 22 year old woman flushed her newborn baby boy down a toilet.  We believe that this desperate act was not unrelated to the fact that she was 22 years old, unmarried, and without a birth permit.  See, “Flushed down toilet, Chinese baby survives.”  http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/28/world/asia/china-baby-rescue
    • On June 3, 2013, the China Daily reported that a city in central China is considering the implementation of a new law that would fine unwed mothers up to three times their annual income.  This law would likely increase the incidence of forced abortions for those women who could not afford to pay such a steep fine on an emergency basis.  See, “New law would fine unmarried mothers.”  http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2013-06/03/content_16558001.htm

China’s One Child Policy Causes Sexual Slavery

The State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons or TIP Report recently downgraded China to a Tier 3 nation – a status it now shares with Iran, Sudan and North Korea. Tier 3 nations may be subject to sanctions, if approved by the U.S. President. http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2013/

The TIP Report discusses how China’s One Child Policy, combined with son preference, has caused a gender imbalance that is driving human trafficking and sexual slavery, not only within China but from the surrounding countries as well. The Report lists the many nations from which women and girls are trafficked into China: “Women and children from neighboring Asian countries, including Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Singapore, Mongolia, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), as well as from Russia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas, are reportedly trafficked to China for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.”

The TIP Report finds that, despite the prevalence of human trafficking and sexual slavery, the Chinese government’s efforts at prevention fall below minimum standards. In fact, the Report finds that many state-run institutions were complicit in the trafficking: “ . . . The Chinese government did not demonstrate significant efforts to comprehensively prohibit and punish all forms of trafficking and to prosecute traffickers. The government continued to perpetuate human trafficking in at least 320 state-run institutions, while helping victims of human trafficking in only seven.”

The TIP Report further criticizes the Chinese government for failing to “address the effects its birth limitation policy had in creating a gender imbalance and fueling trafficking, particularly through bride trafficking and forced marriage.”

Forced Abortion in China: Study finds Correlation with Low Birth Weight, Increased Chance of Death in Subsequent Pregnancies

A dissertation submitted to the University of Hong Kong found that children in China are more likely to face serious health complications, including death, if their mothers have had multiple induced abortions. The study concluded that having more than one abortion increases the risk of low birth weight in subsequent pregnancies. Indeed, women who have had three or more induced abortions are at five times the risk of preterm birth in a subsequent pregnancy.

The study, conducted by Cui Limin, explained that nearly two thirds of neonatal deaths are related to low birth weight. For children surviving infancy, LBW increases the risk of neuron-developmental problems, respiratory tract infections, and behavioral problems.[2] According to the study, those with very LBW suffer from conditions including cerebral palsy, blindness, impaired hearing and learning disabilities. Besides harming the child, these health problems put extra financial strain on parents, the study noted.

Women in China are forced into induced-labor abortions, up to the ninth month of pregnancy. This is a violation of women’s rights of the first degree. We are now learning that these forced abortions also put their future children at risk for respiratory complications, cerebral palsy, and even death related to low birth weight. They also may damage a woman’s future reproductive and general health. This is a violation of the women’s rights and the rights of their future children.  Forced abortion must be stopped, and families should be compensated if their children experience health problems caused by previous induced labor forced abortions.

According to the study, 14.37 million induced abortions were performed in 2012 – one quarter of the abortions in the world — many of which were repeat abortions. The study credited the One-Child Policy as “one of the most important factors for the increased induced abortion rate,” and cited the prevalence of forced and sex-selective abortions in China.

On April 24, 2013, Congressman Chris Smith, “It’s a Girl” film director Evan Grae Davis and I attempted to deliver these petition signatures to the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. The Embassy refused to accept the signatures. This refusal is symbolic of the way that the Chinese Communist Party turns a deaf ear to all those who criticize its human rights record. They may have refused to accept our petition, but they will not silence the growing international outcry against this brutal crime against humanity. http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=1109

Forced Abortion Is Official Government Rape

The Chinese forced abortion policy is systematic, institutionalized violence against women. Because of the sheer numbers involved, it is the most massive women’s rights issue in the world today, and it must be stopped.

I hope to work with you to help end this extremely serious violation of the rights of women and girls in China. Please feel free to contact me should you require any further information.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Very truly yours,

Reggie Littlejohn

Reggie Littlejohn, President

Women’s Rights Without Frontiers

www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org

Stop Forced Abortion – China’s War on Women! Video (4 mins)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjtuBcJUsjY

[1] Agreed conclusions on the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls, UNCSW 2013, pp. 5, 14. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw57/CSW57_Agreed_Conclusions_%28CSW_report_excerpt%29.pdf

[2] Read the Study: The Effect of Induced Abortion on the Risk of Low Birth Weight, Cui Limin http://hub.hku.hk/bitstream/10722/183648/1/FullText.pdf?accept=1

Posted in abortion, China's One Child Policy, Chris Smith, coerced abortion, crime against humanity, Evan Grae Davis, Forced Abortion, forced sterilization, Hillary Clinton, human dignity, Human Rights, human trafficking, It's a Girl, One Child Policy, pro-choice, pro-life, rape, Reggie Littlejohn, reproductive health, reproductive rights, right to choose, Trafficking in Persons Report, Uncategorized, UNCSW, UNFPA, United Nations, war on women, women, women's rights, Women's Rights Without Frontiers, Xi Jinping | 1 Comment

WRWF’s Reggie Littlejohn Keynotes National Right to Life Convention

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

Reggie Littlejohn at a press conference in front of the U.S. Capitol, before attempting to deliver 200,000 signatures from 70 countries calling for an end to forced abortion and gendercide in China.

Exposing the atrocities of forced abortion and gendercide in China, Reggie Littlejohn was the keynote speaker for the closing banquet of the National Right to Life Convention in Dallas on Saturday, June 29.  Other speakers at the Convention included Senator Ted Cruz and Governor Rick Perry.  Below is the text of her remarks.

Forced Abortion and Genercide:  China’s War Against Women
Could a One-Child Policy Ever Come to the U.S.?

I want to thank the National Right to Life leadership for choosing forced abortion and gendercide in China as the subject for their Keynote Address. These are tough subjects, but they are among the great issues facing our age — not just in China, but the world over.  It is an honor to speak to you this evening.

The Problem

You may have heard reports that China is ending its One-Child Policy.  This is untrue.  As recently as January 14, 2013,  Wang Xia, Chairman of the National Population and Family planning Commission, stated, “We must unwaveringly adhere to the One Child Policy as a national policy to stabilize the low birth rate as the primary task.”  China’s One Child Policy is here to stay.

And you may think that this is only a Chinese problem.  If you think that a One Child Policy could never be implemented in the U.S., think again.

Ted Turner has repeatedly stated that he thinks that the United States should adopt a “voluntary” One Child Policy.  There is no such thing.

In 2011, a former Planned Parenthood Executive wrote that, unless the U.S. enacts the Obama administration’s health care plan and China’s One Child Policy, “the world is doomed to strangle among the coils of pitiless exponential growth.”

Just this past week it was reported that a 2010 candidate for governor of Florida has stated that he thinks that the world should implement the use of “birth licenses” or “birth credits” that would cost money after one child.  He does not specify what would happen to a woman who became pregnant without a “birth license” and could not or would not pay for a “birth license.”   Would she be forcibly aborted?

I am here to show you what the One Child Policy looks like, so that this scourge on humanity will end in China and will not metastasize to other countries.

The magnitude of suffering is almost unimaginable.  Since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, the U.S. has had about 55 million abortions.  Since the One-Child Policy was instituted in 1980, the Chinese Communist Party boasts that it has “prevented” 400 million births.  That’s more than the entire population of the United States and Canada combined.

At the Copenhagen climate summit in 2009, a national Family Planning Official touted these 400 million “prevented” people as China’s contribution to the campaign against global warming.   The lower birth rate converts to a reduction of 1.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, the Family Planning Official said.

Forced Abortion

Many of these births are “prevented” through forced abortion.  Family Planning Police drag women out of their homes and force them to abort their babies, up to the ninth month of pregnancy.  Watch our four-minute video:

Stop Forced Abortion – China’s War on Women! Video
http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/?nav=stop-forced-abortion

Gendercide.  Because of the traditional preference for boys, girls are targeted for abortion, just because they are girls.  Boys are the ones who work the fields, carry on the family name, and support parents in old age.  There’s a saying in China, “Raising a daughter is like watering someone else’s garden.”  Because of son preference, according to one UN estimate, up to 200 million women are missing in the world today because of sex-selective abortion.   This is the focus of the “It’s a Girl” film, the authoritative documentary on forced abortion and gendercide in India and China.  The filmmakers and I have screened this powerful film at the British Parliament, European Parliament and in the United States Capitol Visitors’ Center Auditorium.

It’s a Girl Trailer (3 mins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISme5-9orR0

In China, there are 37 million more men living than women.  This is driving human trafficking and sexual slavery, not only in China but from the surrounding nations as well:  According to the most recent State Department’s Trafficking in Person’s report, “women and children from neighboring countries including Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Mongolia, Russia, and North Korea, and from locations as far as Romania and Zimbabwe are reportedly trafficked to China for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.”

China’s One Child Policy causes more violence against women and girls than any other official policy on earth, and any other official policy in the history of the world, because of the sheer numbers involved.  One woman out of every five on earth is Chinese.  Forced abortion.  Forced sterilization.  Infanticide.  Gendercide.  Human trafficking and sexual slavery.  How do Chinese women deal with all this violence?  The answer is sobering.  China has the highest female suicide rate in the world.  According to the World Health Organization, 590 women a day end their lives in China.  This is the real “war against women.”

Together, the “It’s a Girl” team and Women’s Rights Without Frontiers have gathered more than 200,000 signatures from more than 70 countries on petitions against gendercide and forced abortion in China.  In April, Congressman Chris Smith and I tried to deliver these to the Chinese Embassy in DC.  The Embassy would not open its doors to receive them.  The Chinese Communist Party shut us out of their embassy, but they cannot stop the voices of 200,000 people from all over the world demanding an end to these atrocities against women and girls.

There Is Hope

Women’s Rights Without Frontiers has been called the leading voice to expose and oppose forced abortion in China.

We have testified six times at the U.S. Congress and have spoken multiple times at the European, British, Irish and Canadian Parliaments as well, telling decision makers all over the world about the suffering of women and girls in China.

Reggie Littlejohn at the European Parliament, seated next to MEP Gay Mitchell.

European Parliament. We were delighted when, in a striking blow against China’s One Child Policy, the European Parliament in July 2012 passed a resolution strongly condemning forced abortion and involuntary sterilization in China and globally.  The Parliament cited the case of Feng Jianmei, who was forcibly aborted at seven months.  Women’s Rights Without Frontiers broke that case to the west. Specifically, the European Parliament’s resolution “strongly condemns the decision to force Ms. Feng to have an abortion and condemns the practice of forced abortions and sterilizations globally, especially in the context of the one-child policy.”  The resolution further states that “the EU has provided, and still provides, funds for organizations involved in family planning policies in China,” and “urges the Commission to ensure that its funding of projects does not breach” the European Parliament’s commitment against coercive population control.

The European Parliament has been funding the UNFPA and International Planned Parenthood, both of which have been working hand in hand with the Chinese Communist population control machine for decades.  The United States funds these organizations as well.  Former Secretary of State Colin Powell found UNFPA to be complicit with coercive family planning in China, and the Bush administration cut off funding.  The Obama administration has restored this funding.

United Nations. In March 2013, United Nations Commission on the Status of Women held a global conference in the topic, “Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.”  We presented four times at the UNCSW, showing the “It’s a Girl” documentary, and arguing that forced abortion and gendercide are the most massive causes of violence against women in the world today, because of the number involved.

The United Nations listened and, while we may not agree with all aspects of their report, we are delighted that it includes a statement urging governments, relevant entities of the United Nations system and human rights organizations to “condemn and take action to prevent violence against women and girls in healthcare settings, including . . . forced sterilization, forced abortion, and forced use of contraceptives . . .” All of these forced medical procedures are practiced in the coercive implementation of China’s One Child Policy.

Saving Lives in China:  Our “Save a Girl” Campaign

WRWF gives support to mothers who are at risk of aborting or abandoning their baby girls.  This money helps mothers feed and care for their daughters, and resist pressure to abort or abandon them.  We ask people to donate $25 per month.

Save a Girl Campaign Webpage
http://womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=end-gendercide-and-forced-abortion

This baby girl from rural China was saved from abandonment by WRWF’s “Save a Girl” Campaign.

For example, one of our baby girls was born to poor farmers.  Her father wanted a son and was pressuring his wife to leave the baby out in the field to die.  A WRWF Field Worker contacted the mother, who said that if we would help her, she would keep the girl.  WRWF began giving her monthly support.  Her daughter has become an adorable girl and is now greatly loved by both her parents.  Her mother told WRWF: “You saved my daughter’s life.  Thanks to you and your organization.”

WRWF also gives monthly support for a year to women who are pregnant without a birth permit and are hiding or running to escape forced abortions.  For example, one of our mothers was moving from village to village, hiding from the family planning police.  WRWF helped her with monthly support, and she recently gave birth to a healthy baby boy.   We also give monthly support to families that are so desperately poor that their daughters are at risk.

Sign the petition, share our videos, support the “Save a Girl” campaign.  Together we can send forced abortion and gendercide to the dungheap of history, where they belong.

Sign our petition against forced abortion in China:
http://womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=sign_our_petition

Posted in China's One Child Policy, coerced abortion, European Parliament, Feng Jianmei, Forced Abortion, forced sterilization, gendercide, It's a Girl, One Child Policy, President Obama, pro-choice, pro-life, Reggie Littlejohn, reproductive health, reproductive rights, right to choose, Save a Girl, Uncategorized, UNFPA, United Nations, war on women, women's rights, Women's Rights Without Frontiers | 1 Comment

China’s One Child Policy Causes Sexual Slavery — State Department Report

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

The State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons or TIP Report has downgraded China to a Tier 3 nation – a status it now shares with Iran, Sudan and North Korea. Tier 3 nations may be subject to sanctions, if approved by the U.S. President. A Chinese official responded with indignation, calling the downgrade an “arbitrary judgment.”

Reggie Littlejohn, President of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, stated, “The anger of the Chinese government against the TIP Report is misplaced. They should channel their anger toward taking effective action against traffickers, rather than against the exposure to the world of their abysmal record on human trafficking.”

The TIP Report discusses how China’s One Child Policy, combined with son preference, has caused a gender imbalance that is driving human trafficking and sexual slavery, not only within China but from the surrounding countries as well. The Report lists the many nations from which women and girls are trafficked into China: “Women and children from neighboring Asian countries, including Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Singapore, Mongolia, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), as well as from Russia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas, are reportedly trafficked to China for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.”

The TIP Report found that, despite the prevalence of human trafficking and sexual slavery, the Chinese government’s efforts at prevention falls below minimum standards. In fact, the Report found that many state-run institutions were complicit in the trafficking: “ . . . The Chinese government did not demonstrate significant efforts to comprehensively prohibit and punish all forms of trafficking and to prosecute traffickers. The government continued to perpetuate human trafficking in at least 320 state-run institutions, while helping victims of human trafficking in only seven.”

The TIP Report further criticized the Chinese government for failing to “address the effects its birth limitation policy had in creating a gender imbalance and fueling

trafficking, particularly through bride trafficking and forced marriage.”

Women’s Rights Without Frontiers commends the decision by the State Department to drop China from a Tier 2 to a Tier 3 nation. We particularly affirm the connection the TIP report draws between the One Child Policy and human trafficking. The sex-selective abortion of baby girls in China – exacerbated by the coercive low birth limit under the One Child Policy — has created a dangerous gender imbalance in which there are an estimated 37 million more men than women living in China today.

The TIP report mentions the forcible repatriation of North Korean refugees as economic migrants. Such forcible repatriation contravenes international refugee law. Moreover, young women and girls who are refugees or who are trafficked from North Korea into China may face the death penalty upon their forcible repatriation. These young North Korean sex slaves in China are among the most desperate people on earth. They can be beaten and raped with impunity. If they somehow manage to escape and report this abuse to Chinese authorities, instead of receiving help, they can be repatriated to North Korea, where they may be executed.

Littlejohn continued, “WRWF urges the Obama administration to apply appropriate sanctions against China, consistent with those allowed in the TIP Report.”

Sign a petition against forced abortion in China:

http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=sign_our_petition

Watch a four-minute video about forced abortion in China:

http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=34

Read the United States Department of State Trafficking in Persons “TIP” Report

http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2013/

Posted in Forced Abortion, gendercide, human trafficking, Reggie Littlejohn, sexual slavery, Trafficking in Persons Report, Uncategorized, Women's Rights Without Frontiers | Comments Off on China’s One Child Policy Causes Sexual Slavery — State Department Report

Forced Abortion in China: Study Finds Correlation with Low Birth Weight in Subsequent Pregnancies, Increased Chance of Death

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

A dissertation submitted to the University of Hong Kong found that children in China are more likely to face serious health complications, including death, if their mothers have had multiple induced abortions. The study concluded that having more than one abortion increases the risk of low birth weight in subsequent pregnancies. Indeed, women who have had three or more induced abortions are at five times the risk of preterm birth in a subsequent pregnancy.

The study, conducted by Cui Limin, explained that nearly two thirds of neonatal deaths are related to low birth weight. For children surviving infancy, LBW increases the risk of neuron-developmental problems, respiratory tract infections, and behavioral problems. According to the study, those with very LBW suffer from conditions including cerebral palsy, blindness, impaired hearing and learning disabilities. Besides harming the child, these health problems put extra financial strain on parents, the study notes.

In addition, the study discusses the risk of multiple abortions on the health of the mother. These include an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage and infertility. The study also discusses the risks of complication associated with the induced abortion procedure itself: uterine bleeding, uterine perforation, cervical impairment, and infection. The study concludes, “The prevention and intervention strategies are urgently needed for reducing the induced abortion rate.”

Reggie Littlejohn, President of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, stated: “Women in China are forced into induced labor abortions, up to the ninth month of pregnancy. This is a violation of women’s rights of the first degree. We are now learning that it also puts their future children at risk for respiratory complications, cerebral palsy, and even death related to low birth weight. It also may damage a woman’s future reproductive and general health. This is a violation of the women’s rights and the rights of their future children.  Forced abortion must be stopped, and families should be compensated if their child experiences health problems caused by previous induced labor forced abortions.”

These findings are particularly relevant to China, where according to the study 14.37 million induced abortions were performed in 2012 – one quarter of the abortions in the world — many of which were repeat abortions. The study credited the One-Child Policy as “one of the most important factors for the increased induced abortion rate,” and cited the prevalence of forced and sex-selective abortions in China.

Sign a petition to stop forced abortion in China:

http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=sign_our_petition

Watch a powerful, 4-minute video, “Stop Forced Abortion, China’s War on Women”

http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/?nav=stop-forced-abortion

Read the Study: The Effect of Induced Abortion on the Risk of Low Birth Weight, Cui Limin

http://hub.hku.hk/bitstream/10722/183648/1/FullText.pdf?accept=1

Posted in cerebral palsy, China, China's One Child Policy, coerced abortion, ectopic pregnancy, Forced Abortion, gendercide, One Child Policy, pro-choice, pro-life, Reggie Littlejohn, reproductive health, reproductive rights, right to choose, Uncategorized, Women's Rights Without Frontiers | Comments Off on Forced Abortion in China: Study Finds Correlation with Low Birth Weight in Subsequent Pregnancies, Increased Chance of Death

Stop Forced Abortion! An Open Letter to Presidents Xi and Obama

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

Dear Presidents Xi and Obama,

As you meet at Sunnylands today, we urge you to discuss ending the coercive enforcement of China’s One Child Policy.  This brutal policy causes more violence against women and girls than any other official policy on earth, and any official policy in the history of the world.  It is state-sponsored violence against women.  We now have 200,000 signatures from 70 nations on our petitions against gendercide and forced abortion in China.  This number continues to grow as people all over the world learn the truth about China’s barbaric population control program.

Just this year, there has been much suffering caused by the One Child Policy.  We are aware that the cases that make it to the West are just the tip of the iceburg.  For every family that posts their experience of heartbreak on the internet, there are thousands or millions that suffer silently. Every month has brought a fresh atrocity:

  • On January 14, 2013, Wang Xia, the Chair of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, stated that China “must unwaveringly adhere to the One Child Policy as a national policy to stabilize the low birth rate as the primary task.”  See, “Chinese Official Plans to Keep the One Child Policy, Says Maintaining Low Birth Rate is a Priority.”  http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=904
  • On February 4, 2013, Family Planning Officials got into an argument with a couple who had three children.  In the tussle that followed, these Officials ran over the couple’s thirteen month old baby with their car, killing him.  See, “Father’s Interview about baby crushed to death during One Child Policy enforcement confirms violent coercion.”  http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=938
  • On March 14, 2013, it was reported that Yang Yuzhi hung herself in the Family Planning Office of Beizhanglou Village, Taikang County, Henan Province.  Forcibly sterilized twice, she had for years suffered chronic pain from these traumatic procedures.  Her medication drained the family finances, so she regularly petitioned the Family Planning Office for compensation, to no avail.  Yang’s death also emphasizes the absence of the rule of law in China.  She died while petitioning for justice.  See, “Woman’s death by hanging at Family Planning Office – Suicide or Something Else?  [Warning, Graphic Photo],”  http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=986
  • On April 24, 2013, Congressman Chris Smith and Women’s Rights Without Frontiers attempted to deliver to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC 200,000 signatures on petitions against forced abortion and gendercide in China.  The Embassy would not open its door to accept the signatures, but rather refused them.  See, “Chinese Embassy refuses petition on gendercide, forced abortion in China.”  http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=1109
  • On April 25, 2013, the relatives of blind forced abortion opponent Chen Guangcheng received death threats.  Chen’s nephew, Chen Kegui, had acute appendicitis, for which he was not allowed out of the prison for possible surgery.  Kegui had been detained in 2012 for defending himself with a kitchen knife when government thugs attacked him and his family upon the discovery that Chen Guangcheng had escaped.  See, “Blind activist Chen Guangcheng’s relatives receive death threats.” http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=1058
  • On May 15, 2013, in Xinyi City, Jiangsu Province, more than 20 Family Planning Officials beat a farmer almost to death, because he and his wife have three children.  Zhang Futao suffered severe head injuries and is in critical condition from the beating.  According to the family, he has a fractured skull and a brain hemorrhage. His three children are ages 12, 6 and 4.  See, “Family Planning Officials Fracture Skull of Family of Three.”  http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=1136
  • On May 29, 2013, it was reported that a 22 year old woman flushed her newborn baby boy down a toilet.  We believe that this desperate act was not unrelated to the fact that she was 22 years old, unmarried, and without a birth permit.  See, “Flushed down toilet, Chinese baby surives.”  http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/28/world/asia/china-baby-rescue
  • On June 3, 2013, the China Daily reported that a city in central China is considering the implementation of a new law that would fine unwed mothers up to three times their annual income.  This law would likely increase the incidence of forced abortions for those women who could not afford to pay such a steep fine on an emergency basis.  See, “New law would fine unmarried mothers.”  http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2013-06/03/content_16558001.htm

President Jinping, you are in a unique position to stop this horrendous violence against women.  May the end of the One Child Policy be your enduring legacy to the Chinese people.

President Obama, you are a Nobel Peace Prize winner.  Please live up to your acceptance of this award urging the end of violence against women through coercive family planning in China.

Sincerely,

Reggie Littlejohn, President
Women’s Rights Without Frontiers

Posted in abortion, Chen Guangcheng, chen guangfu, Chen Kegui, China, China's One Child Policy, Chris Smith, coerced abortion, human dignity, Human Rights, It's a Girl, Obama, One Child Policy, President Obama, pro-choice, pro-life, Reggie Littlejohn, reproductive health, reproductive rights, right to choose, Uncategorized, Women's Rights Without Frontiers, Xi Jinping | Comments Off on Stop Forced Abortion! An Open Letter to Presidents Xi and Obama

WRWF’s Littlejohn Keynote Speaker to 20,000 at Canadian March Against Gendercide

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

Reggie speaks out against gendercide and forced abortion to an estimated 25,000 at the March for Life, Canada

Ottawa, Canada.  The Canadian March for Life took on a human rights focus this year, dedicated to the theme, “End Female Gendercide.”  Women’s Rights Without Frontiers president, Reggie Littlejohn, was the keynote speaker for the March. An estimated 20,000 to 25,000 people gathered on Parliament Hill in Ottawa – the largest crowd in the history of the March.

Littlejohn stated, “I was truly inspired to address a crowd this size, filled with people carrying signs saying ‘End Female Gendercide’!   According to one UN estimate, up to 200 million women are missing in the world today, due to the sex-selective abortion of baby girls.  I am thrilled that this issue, which was invisible just a few years ago, is now front and center.”  The Canadian March for Life received significant media coverage from the CBC, EWTN, Lifesite News and the National Catholic Register.

An estimated 25,000 gathered on Parliament Hill at the March for Life in Ottawa, Canada

Littlejohn highlighted the “Save a Girl” campaign, in which WRWF’s on-the-ground network intervenes where women are being pressured to abort or abandon their baby daughters, offering them encouragement and a monthly stipend.  Littlejohn stated, “This campaign empowers women to keep their daughters.  We are ending gendercide, one baby girl at a time.”

"End Female Gendercide" was the theme for the March for Life, Canada in 2013

The documentary, “It’s a Girl,” was screened to a crowd of more than 900 at the youth conference after the March.  The authoritative documentary on gendercide, “It’s a Girl” was filmed on location in India and China and contains astonishing interviews of women who have been victims of gendercide, or who are actively resisting the pressure to abort or abandon their baby girls, at great sacrifice to themselves.  Littlejohn is featured in the film as an expert on China’s One Child Policy.

Reggie spoke against female gendercide at a press conference in the Canadian Parliament, before the March

Littlejohn stated, “It was a great encouragement to me to have so many high school and college students come up to me after the film, many with tears in their eyes, and say that they want to commit their lives to ending this terrible injustice against women and baby girls.  It will take this kind of fiery commitment to stop this horrific practice, which otherwise is increasing worldwide.”  Together with the filmmakers, Littlejohn premiered the film in the European and British Parliaments, as well as the United States Capitol.

Support the Save a Girl campaign:

http://womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=end-gendercide-and-forced-abortion

Sign a petition against forced abortion in China:

http://womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=sign_our_petition

See the “It’s a Girl” trailer (3 mins)

http://www.itsagirlmovie.com/

Watch a video against forced abortion in China (4 mins)

http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/?nav=stop-forced-abortion

Posted in abortion, China, China's One Child Policy, coerced abortion, Forced Abortion, forced sterilization, gendercide, human dignity, Human Rights, It's a Girl, One Child Policy, pro-choice, pro-life, Reggie Littlejohn, reproductive health, reproductive rights, right to choose, Save a Girl, Uncategorized, war on women, Women's Rights Without Frontiers | Comments Off on WRWF’s Littlejohn Keynote Speaker to 20,000 at Canadian March Against Gendercide

China: Woman Dies of Forced Abortion, Six Months Pregnant

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

Screen Shot 2013-05-25 at 10.15.08 PM

Yuyue Town, Jiayu Village, Hubei Province. According to a May 23 posting on a microblog, Zhang Yinpin died of a forced abortion. She was six months pregnant.

Zhang did not have a birth permit. After the forced abortion, she suffered a hemorrhage which the hospital could not stop.

This news was posted briefly on a microblog site, but then quickly removed by internet censors. The family could not be reached for comment. WRWF obtained a screenshot of the microblog.

Reggie Littlejohn stated, “As President Obama and President Xi Jinping meet today, neither one can deny that China’s One Child Policy is still enforced through late term forced abortion. They also cannot deny that China censors its internet, removing information that documents human rights atrocities committed by the Chinese Communist Party. Human Rights, including the rights of women to bear children without suffering violence from their government, should be the top issue discussed by these Presidents during their talks today.”

Posted in Forced Abortion, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

China’s One Child Policy: Family Planning Officials Fracture Skull of Father of Three

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

(Xinyi City, Jiangsu Province. May 18, 2013). More than 20 Family Planning Officials beat a farmer almost to death, because he and his wife have three children, according to a report by ChinaAid.

Zhang Futao has suffered severe head injuries and is in critical condition from the beating, which occurred on Wednesday, May 15. According to the family, he has a fractured skull and a brain hemorrhage. His three children are ages 12, 6 and 4.

Reggie Littlejohn, president of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, stated, “We condemn this egregious, state-sponsored violence against an innocent citizen, whose only ‘crime’ is having more than one child. Why was this man suddenly attacked, four years after the birth of his third child? We demand that the family planning attackers be brought to justice, that Mr. Zhang’s full medical expenses be covered, and that his family be compensated.”

Littlejohn continued, “This attack also serves as a reminder that men as well as women suffer as a result of violence in the name of population control. On March 21, 2011, Family Planning Officials stabbed a young man to death while he was trying to protect his father from a beating. The Officials had entered the home to seize the man’s sister for a forced sterilization. The spirit of the Red Guard lives on in China’s population control machine. Family Planning Officials are above the law and function as domestic terrorists.”
http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=147

Read the original report here.
http://www.chinaaid.org/2013/05/family-planning-officials-in-jiangsu.html

Posted in One Child Policy, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Reggie Littlejohn and Bi-Partisan Members of the United States Congress Stand Against Gendercide on Capitol Hill, Screen “It’s a Girl” Film

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

Reggie Littlejohn condemns gendercide at the U.S. Capitol Hill screening of the "It's a Girl" film

Washington, D.C. Women’s Rights Without Frontiers partnered with Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA), Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC), and the Coalition Against Gendercide in a bipartisan screening of the “It’s a Girl” film at the United States Capitol Visitors Center, in conjunction with the Tom Lantos Commission on Human Rights. Shot on location in India and China, “It’s a Girl” exposes the fact that there are up to 200 million women missing in the world today due to gendercide.

Reggie Littlejohn emphasized the connection between gendercide and forced abortion:

“Forced abortion is not a choice. More often than not, gendercide is not a choice either. There is a strong correlation between sex-selective abortion and coercion. Crushing social, economic, political and personal pressures in cultures with a strong son preference trample women carrying girls. All too often, women in these cultures do not “select” their daughters for abortion. They are forced.”

Littlejohn also highlighted the hope offered by WRWF’s “Save a Girl” Campaign in rural China: “We are stopping gendercide, one baby girl at a time. We have field workers in China who reach out to women who have had an ultrasound, learned that they are pregnant with a girl, and are planning to abort or abandon her. A field worker will visit that woman and say, ‘Don’t abort your baby just because she’s a girl. She’s a precious daughter. We will give you a monthly stipend for a year, to help you support her.’ The practical support we offer empowers these women to keep their daughters.”

WRWF’s “Save a Girl” is the official “It’s a Girl” film’s action campaign for China.

Learn more about the Save a Girl Campaign here:

http://womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=end-gendercide-and-forced-abortion

Cong. Chris Smith states that gendercide is a "crime against women" at the U.S. Capitol Hill screening of "It's a Girl"

Rep. Chris Smith stated, “Gendercide is a crime against women, a gender crime that has no parallel or precedent in all of human history.” Rep. Smith has held dozens of Congressional hearings on Chinese human rights, particularly forced abortion under the One Child Policy.

Rep. Moran continued, “To the extent that we stand by the sidelines and don’t do anything about [gendercide] makes us culpable as well.”

“We talk about wanting to find more common ground in Washington DC,” added Rep. Meadows. “And this is an issue where Democrats and Republicans can absolutely agree. Gendercide must be stopped.”

Littlejohn and the “It’s a Girl” filmmakers also collaborated in screening the film around the world, including the British Parliament, the European Parliament and the United Nations.

Donate to the “Save a Girl” campaign:

http://womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=give

Sign a petition against forced abortion in China:

http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=sign_our_petition

Learn more about the “It’s a Girl” film and watch the 3-minute trailer:

http://www.itsagirlmovie.com/


Posted in Chris Smith, Forced Abortion, gendercide, Reggie Littlejohn, Save a Girl, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Reggie Littlejohn and Bi-Partisan Members of the United States Congress Stand Against Gendercide on Capitol Hill, Screen “It’s a Girl” Film

Chinese Embassy Refuses Petition Against Forced Abortion, Gendercide in China

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

Littlejohn, with Rep. Chris Smith (R.) and Evan Grae Davis, Director of the "It's a Girl" film, in front of the Chinese Embassy, holding 200,000 signatures on the petition against gendercide and forced abortion in China

Washington, D.C. Women’s Rights Without Frontiers president Reggie Littlejohn and Rep. Chris Smith led a delegation from Capitol Hill to the Chinese Embassy to deliver 200,000 signatures on a petition to end gendercide and forced abortion in China. Though Rep. Smith and Littlejohn tried repeatedly to gain access to the Embassy to deliver the petition signatures, the Embassy refused to grant access.

Littlejohn stated, “These signatures are from 200,000 people from more than 70 countries. They represent a widespread, international outcry against forced abortion and gendercide in China. Through the dark glass and barred windows of the Embassy, I could see someone walking inside. They would not answer the door to let us in, though we rang the bell repeatedly. This refusal is symbolic of the way that the Chinese Communist Party turns a deaf ear to all those who criticize its human rights record. They may refuse to accept our petition, but they will not silence us. We will continue to raise our voices on behalf of the hundreds of millions women who have been forcibly aborted, up to the ninth month of pregnancy, and the girls who are being selectively aborted, just because they are girls. These practices constitute a crime against humanity and they must be stopped.”

Rep. Smith, a tireless advocate for Chinese human rights, stated, “Just last Friday, the U.S. State Department China 2012 Human Rights Report stated that the rate of female suicide in China has increased from 500 to 590 per day. The report noted that three times the number of women as men commit suicide in China. Two of the factors cited include ‘the traditional preference for male children, [and] birth limitation policies.’ This is the true War Against Women.”

The petition signatures were gathered by the “It’s a Girl” film documenting gendercide in India and China, in collaboration with Women’s Rights Without Frontiers.

Sign a petition against forced abortion in China:

http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=sign_our_petition

Stop Forced Abortion – China’s War on Women! Video (4 mins)

http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/?nav=stop-forced-abortion

Posted in Chris Smith, Evan Grae Davis, Forced Abortion, gendercide, It's a Girl, Reggie Littlejohn, Women's Rights Without Frontiers | 1 Comment