Miracle of life or a nuisance?

The decision to broadcast video footage of a woman giving birth by cesarean section in Changsha, capital of Central China's Hunan Province, has divided the public, according to the results of an on-line survey yesterday by sohu.com, a Web portal.

Of the nearly 12,000 netizens who responded, roughly half said they supported the telecast, saying it was a good way to demonstrate the sacrifice of motherhood and to encourage people to respect their mothers.

However, another 45 percent of the respondents said it was inappropriate to show such a bloody scene in public.

The video was broadcast at a plaza in downtown Changsha on May 13, Mother's Day, attracting the attention of many passers-by and triggering heated discussion in Internet chat rooms.

The operation took place at a local hospital, and the whole process was recorded and then broadcast by the hospital, according to Guangzhou Daily.

It was the first time that such footage had been broadcast in pubic in the city. Defending the move, the hospital's chief told the local Xiaoxiang Morning News that the goal was to promote scientific childbirth and help alleviate the misunderstandings many women have about childbirth.

Statistics from the State Commission of Family Planning indicate that 98 percent of the women in labor fear childbirth.

The hospital chief rejected claims that the video infringed on the woman's privacy, saying the broadcast did not show the woman's face or her reproductive organs.

The move immediately aroused heated debate.

A five-months pregnant woman told Xiaoxiang Morning News that she supported to the video because it helped her understand the process of childbirth, adding that it would also help men understand the difficulty women have to bear. She added that she would be willing to have her own delivery recorded if measures were taken to ensure her privacy.

An unnamed legal expert at a local university told the Changsha-based newspaper that the decision to film the delivery was not against the law because the woman had apparently consented to having it done. However, it could negatively affect women who have not experienced childbirth.

Last month, the decision to show a video of a woman giving birth at a primary school in Central China's Henan Province resulted in similar debates.

Source: China Daily