Hundreds of women from an impoverished, rural region in southern China have been forced to have abortions and sterilisations in order to meet birth quotas under the controversial one-child policy.
The harsh birth control measures, first reported in Chinese State media last month, were confirmed to The Irish Times yesterday by China's central family planning agency, which admitted the practice may be more widespread.
It has emerged that women of childbearing-age in Huaiji County in Guandong Province were sterilised or fitted with contraceptive devices as part of a campaign to reduce births in recent months. They were not offered any alternative family planning methods.
Women found to be pregnant with a second child without permission had to have an abortion, after which they were sterilised.
One report claimed that Huaiji family planners set a target of 20,000 abortions and sterilisations by the end of this year to cut population growth.
A senior official from the State Family Planning Commission, which oversees the implementation of China's one-child rule, told The Irish Times that extreme measures were taken to "accelerate family planning practice" in Huaiji.
Mrs Ru Xiaomei, division director of the commission's International Cooperation Department, also conceded similar practices may be still going on in other parts of the country.
"We try very hard to stop this but it is such a huge country with diverse cultures and economic development we can never guarantee bad practice will disappear overnight."
"This is happening less and less and grassroots family planning personnel are more and more aware and understanding."
Mrs Ru stressed that what happened in Huaiji is not condoned by the authorities, and said those responsible will be re-educated about the country's principles for implementing family planning.
"We have criticised them and demanded that they stop this practice and that they do more training".
Mrs Ru said as soon as they first got reports of what was happening in Huaiji in August, they sent a team to the area to investigate.
According to reports, the abortion and sterilisation clamp down started earlier this year after census figures showed the one-child policy in Huaiji was being widely flouted.
Mrs Ru said she could not confirm that Huaiji local government set the target of 20,000 abortions and sterilisations. "I do not know if this figure is true" said Mrs Ru. According to reports, an ultrasound machine was taken to each village to detect pregnancy.
Any woman found to be pregnant without permission had to have an abortion. Women who had official permission to have a child were sterilised as soon as they had given birth.
The latest census figures put China's population at 1.265 billion. It is estimated that without the one-child policy China's population would be 300 million more.
The policy is strictly enforced in urban areas but exemptions exist for couples who are both single children, for some rural dwellers, and for ethnic minorities.
Couples who breach the rule are typically fined 20 per cent of their annual salary.