China said Thursday it was investigating the case of a woman who was allegedly forced to abort seven months into her pregnancy, after images posted online of the baby’s corpse caused an uproar.

Activists criticized authorities in north China’s Shaanxi province for allegedly forcing Feng Jianmei to abort her pregnancy because she failed to pay a hefty fine for exceeding China’s “one-child” population control policy.

The government of Zhenping county, where the abortion took place, have since promised a “transparent probe” under a special committee, while national family planning officials said any perpetrators would be punished. . .