An obstetrician convicted of trafficking seven babies was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve Tuesday.

Zhang Shuxia, a doctor with the Fuping County Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital in Shaanxi Province, was found guilty of selling babies to human traffickers after falsely claiming the babies were diseased and persuading their parents to give them up, Weinan Intermediate People's Court ruled on Tuesday.

"I think the sentence is heavy," Zhang's defense lawyer Jin Tao told the Global Times, adding that Zhang has not yet decided whether to appeal.

Jin added that Zhang at least should not be found guilty in one of the cases, in which she was first approached by the parents of one of the infants. 

"The parents wanted to sell their baby because of their poor economic condition, and they received the money from the human trafficker," said Jin, "Zhang was acting as 'intermediary' in this case."

The parents then regretted and got their baby back. "Therefore Zhang's behavior shouldn't be defined as a criminal act in this case," Jin noted.

One baby died after a human trafficker surnamed Pan abandoned the infant in a garbage ditch. The court found Zhang not guilty of causing the baby's death, although it said she was still responsible for leaving the baby unattended.

"Suspects convicted of child trafficking would face the death penalty when circumstances are particularly serious," said Liu Xiaoyuan, a lawyer with the Beijing-based Fengrui Law firm. However, Liu believes Zhang was harshly sentenced since she didn't cause the baby's death.

Liu noted that Zhang took advantage of her profession for criminal conduct, which made her case different from the others and triggered a public uproar, which might also have impacted the sentence.

Instead of imposing a heavier punishment, the root cause of China's extensive child trafficking phenomenon should be explored, Liu suggested.

Tian Xiaoqiong, a law professor with the Minzu University of China, said the sentence fits the crime. 

"The court said that Zhang was given a severe punishment on the grounds that she had violated both her professional and moral ethics and caused an 'extremely bad' social impact, which makes the death penalty reasonable," Tian was quoted as saying by china.com.cn.

Lai Guofeng, father of one of the abducted babies, said on Tuesday that he was satisfied with the sentence, saying "I believe in the justice of the law."

Lai said he had also filed a lawsuit against the hospital, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Zhang was also deprived of political rights for life and had all of her property confiscated.

Eight other suspects involved in the case were detained in August, including the hospital's director and two other senior hospital officials. Three county officials were dismissed over the matter.