Federal Court Panel Grants Appeal For Woman Denied Asylum For Seeking To Avoid Forced Sterilization In China

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Fertility;  Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 16 Sep 2008 - 7:00 PDT

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A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta on Thursday ruled that a Chinese woman who feared sterilization under China's family planning law can challenge her denial of asylum in the U.S. under the Convention Against Torture, the AP/Macon Telegraph reports. China's policy limits couples to one child with some exceptions for ethnic groups, rural families and couples who are both only children. A recent earthquake in China's Sichuan province also prompted officials to allow an exception to the one-child rule to couples who lost an only child.

According to the court, an affidavit submitted by the woman, Shao Yu Yuan, stated that family members had told her that many pregnant women in her hometown in China's Fujian Province were taken by authorities and forced to undergo forced abortion and/or sterilization. In its decision, the panel cited a ruling by the 11th Circuit court in a similar case. The judges ordered the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals to give Yuan a hearing on her request. Yuan's lawyer, Ted Cox, said the ruling most likely will allow the mother of two daughters to stay in the U.S. (AP/Macon Telegraph, 9/11).

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