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23 hospitals violate abortion rules
By Jia Feishang and Cai Wenjun |
July 24, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE girl was 12. Four minors raped her, and when she became pregnant, they took her to a private hospital in Shanghai for abortion surgery to cover their crime.
The boys didn't choose the hospital by chance, local prosecutors say. They specifically went to the Boda Hospital in suburban Songjiang District because they had learned that the hospital, unlike state-run hospitals, wouldn't ask the patient's age or phone her parents to secure their agreement.
They went to the hospital and claimed the girl was 19. They said they were her relatives. The hospital did the abortion immediately.
The Qingpu District People's Prosecutors' Office caught them early this year after the girl's father called the police.
Health officials have since leveled an administrative penalty against the hospital -- one of 23 private hospitals in Shanghai that are doing abortion surgery without a license or advertising abortion services. Both things are against the law.
The Boda Hospital case was the trigger for an investigation into the illegal practices.
After discovering that the Boda Hospital advertised abortion services yet had no abortion license, the prosecutors' office contacted 12 other private hospitals in eight districts by phone or online. Investigators posed as ordinary people and found that almost all of the hospitals offered abortions for minors, posted ads online on abortion services or distributed leaflets on the street. But none of them had an abortion license.
That sparked a wider probe, alerts to the Shanghai Health Bureau.
The health bureau said yesterday it has doled out administrative penalties to 11 hospitals. Another 12 are still under investigation.
"Hospitals having such faulty practice will be punished and repeated violation means a lift of the hospital license," said Song Guofan, a bureau official. "Some private hospitals did make improper operation in order to attract patients and gain income. The authorities have been launching inspection on such issue to protect patients' health."
According to the Qingpu prosecutors, such hospitals make profits from the "convenient" practices they offer to teenagers. The usual charge is 2,000 yuan (US$295) for an abortion.
In the Boda Hospital case, two minors have been sentenced. The others were still being investigated. The sentences were not released for minor criminal protection.
Zhu Weijie from Shanghai No. 411 Hospital of People's Liberation Army said young women and teenage girls should visit qualified hospitals for abortions.
He said state-owned hospitals usually ask patients seeking abortion service to write down their true personal information during registration. Doctors will ask a girl's age if she is a minor or looks very young.
"We will ask for parents' escort if the patient is a minor," he said. "Though abortion is a simple practice, qualified hospitals always conduct profound checkups before doing an abortion.
"Some private hospitals may not do proper checkup and it can be risky for some patients with congenital diseases or some health problems unable for an abortion."
The boys didn't choose the hospital by chance, local prosecutors say. They specifically went to the Boda Hospital in suburban Songjiang District because they had learned that the hospital, unlike state-run hospitals, wouldn't ask the patient's age or phone her parents to secure their agreement.
They went to the hospital and claimed the girl was 19. They said they were her relatives. The hospital did the abortion immediately.
The Qingpu District People's Prosecutors' Office caught them early this year after the girl's father called the police.
Health officials have since leveled an administrative penalty against the hospital -- one of 23 private hospitals in Shanghai that are doing abortion surgery without a license or advertising abortion services. Both things are against the law.
The Boda Hospital case was the trigger for an investigation into the illegal practices.
After discovering that the Boda Hospital advertised abortion services yet had no abortion license, the prosecutors' office contacted 12 other private hospitals in eight districts by phone or online. Investigators posed as ordinary people and found that almost all of the hospitals offered abortions for minors, posted ads online on abortion services or distributed leaflets on the street. But none of them had an abortion license.
That sparked a wider probe, alerts to the Shanghai Health Bureau.
The health bureau said yesterday it has doled out administrative penalties to 11 hospitals. Another 12 are still under investigation.
"Hospitals having such faulty practice will be punished and repeated violation means a lift of the hospital license," said Song Guofan, a bureau official. "Some private hospitals did make improper operation in order to attract patients and gain income. The authorities have been launching inspection on such issue to protect patients' health."
According to the Qingpu prosecutors, such hospitals make profits from the "convenient" practices they offer to teenagers. The usual charge is 2,000 yuan (US$295) for an abortion.
In the Boda Hospital case, two minors have been sentenced. The others were still being investigated. The sentences were not released for minor criminal protection.
Zhu Weijie from Shanghai No. 411 Hospital of People's Liberation Army said young women and teenage girls should visit qualified hospitals for abortions.
He said state-owned hospitals usually ask patients seeking abortion service to write down their true personal information during registration. Doctors will ask a girl's age if she is a minor or looks very young.
"We will ask for parents' escort if the patient is a minor," he said. "Though abortion is a simple practice, qualified hospitals always conduct profound checkups before doing an abortion.
"Some private hospitals may not do proper checkup and it can be risky for some patients with congenital diseases or some health problems unable for an abortion."
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