Woman diagnosed with cancer has child, stirs controversy

A 26-year-old woman in Suzhou has stirred controversy on the internet as she decided to have a child despite being diagnosed with cancer.

The women surnamed Lin was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, which is a cancerous tumor in 2014. Her illness did not improve much after several treatments including chemotherapy. Despite warnings from doctors, Lin decided to have her baby after she became pregnant earlier this year. It's reported that Lin's situation has drastically worsened after having the baby and doctors have warned she now only has several months to live.

The story of Lin was brought to the public's attention through Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like service, where the dying mother was seen shooting videos for her newly-born child. Lin hoped that the video can be a keepsake for her daughter to remember her face and voice.

In the beginning, most netizens found Lin's deed very touching and considerate and praised Lin for her love and respect for life.

However, some netizens later began to question if Lin was just selfish to have the baby. Some argue that, considering Lin's illness, it was very dangerous for both her and the child to have it, and that she may even pass the cancer gene to her child. Even if the child was born smoothly, Lin would not be there to raise her.

One netizen stressed that it is not the reproduction that makes parents great but the process of raising their offspring.

At present, a poll is being conducted by 163.com which invites netizens to express their views on the matter.