Opinion ID: 1248466
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Applicability of the Presumption to Forced Abortion

Text: With respect to the government's contention that the presumption does not apply when the past persecution is a forced abortion, the regulatory text and the BIA's own reading of that text belie this argument and show that, to the contrary, the presumption indeed does apply. The regulations specify that [i]f the applicant is determined to have suffered past persecution in the proposed country of removal on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, it shall be presumed that the applicant's life or freedom would be threatened in the future in the country of removal on the basis of the original claim. [49] Forced abortions, which are categorized by statute as persecution based on political opinion, are nowhere exempted from this provision, and the government has provided no explanation whatsoever why we should exempt this form of persecution from the regulatory presumption. The BIA's interpretation of the regulations supports our conclusion that the presumption applies to forced abortions. The BIA has held that an individual who has been forcibly sterilized is entitled to a presumption of future persecution even though, by definition, this particular form of persecution is not susceptible of repetition. [50] Entitlement to the presumption pertains, because prior forced sterilization is a permanent and continuing act of persecution. [51] Although the BIA has not explicitly extended this rationale to forced abortions, it has noted the close identity between these two forms of persecution: [T]he forced abortion, like sterilization, `deprive[s] a couple of the natural fruits of conjugal life, and the society and comfort of the child or children that might eventually have been born to them.' [52] In rejecting the government's argument that sterilization constituted a changed circumstance that rebuts the presumption of future harm, the BIA also observed that it is fair to assume that if the respondent's spouse was subjected to a forced abortion, as opposed to a forced sterilization, the possibility of the spouse becoming pregnant and being subject to another forced abortion would preclude the argument that the forced abortion constitutes a fundamental change in circumstances for purposes of the regulation. We do not believe that it would be consistent with the intent of Congress for us to grant asylum to those subjected to a forced abortion, while denying relief to those subjected to a forced sterilization, simply because only the former act of persecution is one capable of repetition. [53] From this, it is obvious that the BIA accepts that the regulatory presumption applies in cases involving forced abortions to the same extent that it does in those involving forced sterilizations. In further support of our rejection of the government's position that the presumption does not apply to forced abortion, the Ninth Circuit was recently confronted with the same issue that is before us today and held that a woman who had been subjected to a forced abortion was entitled to withholding of removal. In so holding, it stated that [b]oth forced abortion and forced sterilization share unusual characteristics including the pain, psychological trauma, and shame resulting from a forced procedure. Both forms of persecution have serious, ongoing effects. A woman who has had a forced abortion has experienced unwanted governmental interference into one of the most fundamental and personal of decisions: whether she will have a child. The effects of that intrusion last a lifetime. . . . We see no way to distinguish between the victims of forced sterilization and the victims of forced abortion for withholding of removal eligibility purposes. [54] We agree that there is no reasoned basis for distinguishing between these two recognized forms of persecution in the context of withholding of removal. Thus, we hold that the presumption of future harm applies equally to forced abortions.