She went to see the nurse after being ordered to by a population control official
A nurse took my medical history and performed the pelvic examination. “The cervix is soft,” she told me when she had finished. “All the signs of pregnancy are present.” She estimated from the date of my last period that I was 10 weeks along. “Your due date is around July 21,” she concluded. “You also have an infection of the cervix, probably from your recent cesarean section.”
The news of my condition was delivered in a clinical tone of voice without the barest hint of a smile. Unplanned pregnancies no longer elicited congratulations. The nurse knew I did not have a quota for a second child. And I knew that she would report my condition back to my unit by phone as soon as she left the examining room.
The next day the population control worker again accosted me at 7:30 AM as I was getting off shift. “We must take care of your situation without delay,” she said, forgoing any small talk. “You should take remedial measures within the week.”
I had carefully rehearsed what I was going to say to her. The official limit is still twochildren, I would say, despite the recentlyintroduced quota system. No one can force meto have an abortion. Besides, with my ongoinginfection, it would be dangerousfor me to have an abortion. Allthings considered, I have decided to have this baby.
Now, face-to-face with this representative of the authorities, my instinct to go along, to avoid confrontation at all costs, reasserted itself. I said nothing.
“Well, Chi An?” She again demanded after a moment. “Do you agree?” I found myself nodding in spite of myself, promising an abortion I had no intention of getting…
All too soon my weeklong grace period was up, and the population control worker came looking for me again. “Why have you not yet been to the hospital?” She scolded me. “You have worked in the area of birth control. You know what the policy of the government is. You must not violate your agreement. If you do, you’ll bear full responsibility for the consequences.”
Each day after work she continued to harangue me, her threats becoming more and more transparent. I was angry and yet at the same time intimidated. I never once talked back.
I had no sanctuary from this relentless pressure to abort. Not even my mother’s apartment was inviolable. Teacher Chen, the head of the street committee, visited me there each and every day. Sometimes she would be waiting for me at the entrance to our building when I arrived home from work. Other times she would stop by in the evenings, when my mother and Wei Xin were home.…
The threats and the scolding’s replayed themselves endlessly in my mind, until they began to eat away at my resolve…
For two weeks the population control official continued her barrage of threats; then one day after I got off work she gave me an ultimatum. “I have made an appointment for you at the hospital tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM.,” she said to me. “Don’t miss it. If you do, the Party secretary swears the consequences for you will be very serious.” Without waiting for a response, she turned to go. “One more thing,” she tossed over her shoulder as she walked away. “I intend to accompany you to the hospital after you get off work. There will be no more delays.”
“This is sheer coercion!” Wei Xin [her husband] said angrily that night, after I recounted to him the words of the population control official…
“If I don’t go in tomorrow, they will increase the pressure,” I said. “The Party secretary will get involved. The street committee will hold public meetings to denounce me… Our personal business will be mancheng fengyu – wagging tongues throughout the city.”
“It already is,” Wei Xin said. “Today I was visited by the population control worker in my factory. She told me that it would be best if we took care of a problem immediately. So much for moving back to my dormitory to avoid this pressure.”
I was stunned by this news… “Oh, Wei Xin, what are we going to do?”
“What can we do?” He responded, sounding defeated. “If the authorities are going to make an issue of this, what choice do we have to go along? How can an egg break a rock?”
Chi An had the abortion.
