Responses to Information Requests

Marie Stopes International (MSI), a not-for-profit sexual and reproductive health organization with the goal of preventing unintended pregnancies, unplanned births and unsafe abortions, operates in 43 countries worldwide (n.d.a). There are currently four MSI clinics in China in the provinces of Shandong, Jiangsu, Henan and Shaanxi, and one clinic in the autonomous region of Guangxi (MSI n.d.b). In 30 July 2009 correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Country Director of MSI China indicated the following in regard to abortion records:

… outpatient medical records are kept by the clients themselves. As abortion is an outpatient procedure, the record including the abortion procedure they have had will also be kept by the clients, although the details of the record may be very different from various hospitals.

In earlier correspondence on 29 July 2009, the MSI China Country Director stated that women have the right to access their medical records and obtain medical documentation, and that "in most cases, they bring their medical records back home with them."

The Country Director stated that it is not standard procedure for a hospital to issue a "certificate" after a woman has had an abortion; however, some women may request a certificate of an abortion in order to obtain sick leave, or in order to have hospital expenses reimbursed (MSI China 30 July 2009). The Country Director also indicated that women are required to sign an "informed consent" form before having an abortion; the content of the form focuses "on the potential risk of the abortion" (MSI China 29 July 2009).

In a 23 July 2009 telephone interview, a United Nations (UN) project officer volunteering at MSI China indicated that patients who receive services at MSI China clinics can access their medical records. The Project Officer explained that the record of an abortion from an MSI China clinic includes the patient's name, the procedure performed and notes on follow-up care (MSI China 23 July 2009). The Project Officer also explained that the name of the patient is not always the genuine name, since MSI China offers women, both married and unmarried, anonymity to protect their privacy (ibid.). Conversely, the Project Officer indicated that married women who have abortions at public hospitals in China must present identification (ibid.). In follow-up correspondence, the Project Officer indicated that unmarried women must "offer someone in [their] family to prove [their] identity" in order to have an abortion at a public hospital (MSI China 27 July 2009).

The information provided by MSI China could not be corroborated among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Specific information on the province of Liaoning could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Marie Stopes International (MSI). N.d.a. "About Us." <http://www.mariestopes.org/About_Marie_Stopes_International.aspx& gt; [Accessed 31 July 2009]

_____. N.d.b. "China." <http://www.mariestopes.org/Countries_we_work_in/Countries/China. aspx> [Accessed 31 July 2009]

Marie Stopes International (MSI) China. 30 July 2009. Correspondence from the Country Director.

_____. 29 July 2009. Correspondence from the Country Director.

_____. 27 July 2009. Correspondence from a project officer.

_____. 23 July 2009. Interview with a project officer.

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Two Senior Fellows at the East-West Center, the Population Investigation Committee (PIC), the World Health Organization (WHO) in Beijing, Doctors Without Borders in New York and Toronto, Human Rights in China (HRIC), a research librarian who worked at China Medical University, a professor of anthropology at the University of California Irvine (UCI), a professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Techology, a professor of public health at Harvard College and a lecturer of social policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science did not have information on this Request.

The Population Reference Bureau, China Policy Institute at the University of Nottingham (UK), the United States (US) Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), an associate professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a research fellow of biomedicine at the London School of Economics and Political Science, a professor of political science at Swarthmore College, a senior lecturer at the UCL Centre for International Health and Development (CIHD), a professor of sociology at the University of California Irvine (UCI), an adjunct research scholar at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute of Columbia University and three doctors from the United Family Hospital in Guangzhou did not respond within the time constraints of this Response.

Attempts to contact the China Population and Development Research Center were unsuccessful.

Internet sites, including: All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), Amnesty International (AI), Australian Government - Migration Review Tribunal, Beijing Review, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), The Center for Reproductive Rights, China Population Welfare Foundation, European Country of Origin Information Network (ecoi.net), Freedom House, Human Rights Watch (HRW), Mother's Choice in Hong Kong, National Population and Family Planning Commission of China, The New York Times, The People's Daily [Beijing], Population Council, Reuters, Time (Asia), United Kingdom (UK) Home Office, United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, UN Population Fund, World Health Organization (WHO), Yale-China Health Journal [New Haven, Connecticut].