Rebecca Self, Religion and Ethics editor

Human rights activist informs, inspires at ND

According to President and founder Reggie Littlejohn, Women’s Rights without Frontiers (WRWF) is a non-religious, neither publicly pro-life nor pro-choice organization that unites people from different political, religious and ideological camps against the human rights violations occurring in China. In particular, it works to expose and oppose the forced abortion, gendercide and sexual slavery that have become rampant under the one-child policy. On November 7, Littlejohn sat down for lunch with a small group of Notre Dame students to discuss these issues.

WRWF’s two-pronged approach to issues of forced abortion and gendercide involves both direct interaction with the people affected and international advocacy. The life-saving branch of WRWF in China functions on the ground, providing financial assistance to pregnant women to enable them to choose life for their daughters despite immense pressure to bear sons. The advocacy branch is more vocal and visible internationally, due in large part to Littlejohn’s activism.

In 2012, Littlejohn was the prominent American voice working to free Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng. Guangcheng was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and won the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, for his exposure of the forced abortion practice in his native Yinan County in China’s Shandong Province. He was imprisoned and tortured by the Chinese Communist Party. Released four years later with numerous untreated medical afflictions, Guangcheng lived under strict house arrest with his mother, wife and 6-year-old daughter. The authorities severely limited the family’s access to food, and rumors began to circulate in the international community that he had died.

During Guangcheng’s imprisonment, Littlejohn was active with Voice of America, the official US broadcast into restricted nations. She said over the radio that she felt in her heart that Guangcheng was not dead but dying, and asked the Chinese people and other listeners to pray for his liberty.

The story of his miraculous escape from house arrest and arrival at the US Embassy in Beijing was evidence to Littlejohn that “[forced abortion and gendercide] greatly pains the heart of God.” She said in the seminar that China’s geographic distance from the US is irrelevant: “we should care because God cares.” Littlejohn herself has received numerous awards for her work from American national organizations, which she says is indicative of the international nature of this issue.

Littlejohn shared shocking statistics with seminar participants about the plight of women and unborn children in China. The Communist government “boasts, actually boasts,” she said, that 400 million births have been prevented under the one-child policy. This number is larger than the population of the US and Canada combined.

China’s Family Planning Police forcibly transport women to unprofessional abortion and sterilization clinics. The government offers monetary rewards to people who report violations of the one-child policy. When discovered, families with more than one child face fines, jail time and the literal confiscation of their children. And since the selective abortion of girls has led to an excess of 37 million Chinese men over women, many of these “illegal” female children are trafficked as child brides.

The suicide rate for women, Littlejohn said, is higher in China than anywhere in the world, with 590 women per day taking their own lives in 2013. In 2010, the number was 500, meaning that three years saw an increase of over 20 percent. Since China is so populous, this translates to one in five women in the world living under these same conditions that drive so many women to suicide. If India,which also is rife with sex-selective abortions due to the dowry system, is included, one in three women globally faces very strong pressure to prevent or terminate pregnancy, especially if her child is female.

Littlejohn routinely shares this information, and much more, in settings such as the Vatican and Amnesty International events. Beyond being the keynote speaker at various Marches for Life, she has presented to the US Congress, the European Parliament, the British Parliament, the Vatican, the US State Department and the White House. She hopes WRWF will garner more support from both sides of the life issue to fight forced abortion and gendercide because they are such gross violations of human rights. Forced abortion is violent, ignores the wishes of the woman and shows utter disregard for the dignity of human life.

For these reasons, Littlejohn said that Planned Parenthood International, which claims to stand for volunteerism and free choice, should have taken a stand against forced sterilizations in Puning City, Guandong Province, when they were exposed in 2010. But instead, Littlejohn said, they are “complicit” in “working with the Communist Party in China on population control.” She believes America is complicit by extension because Planned Parenthood receives funding from the US government.

The students who attended the seminar wanted to know what they might do to help, and Littlejohn’s first request was for prayer. Her personal faith and conviction are the bedrock of her activism.

See It’s a Girl, a documentary about the dangers that female children face worldwide, for more information. Find screenings near you at http://www.itsagirlmovie.com/.

Rebecca Self is a sophomore studying political science and education, although she hasn’t yet taken a course in poli sci and has only taken one and a half in education. If you have any course recommendations for next semester, email her at rself@nd.edu.