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Work cited page

Hesketh, Therese. "The Effect of China's One-Child Family Policy after 25 Years, ."
www.nejm.org. Therese Hesketh, Ph.D., Li Lu, M.D., and Zhu Wei Xing, M.P.H.N , 09-15-
2005, . Web. 9 Nov 2010. <http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMhpr051833

"Illegal births and legal abortions – the case of China." www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

Mark Benjamin
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Eng 121

Ramirez

11-09-2010

China’s one child policy

China’s one child policy was introduced in 1979 as a program for the single family

procedure to help the cultural revolution of China. The sex ratio for males and females in China

is a disgrace to mankind. The population growths for these unborn babies are cut back between

250 to 350 million from this so called One Child Policy. The thought of having an abortion is not

one of favor in many family lives in China. China’s one child policy is one of the most ridiculous

policies to be carried out in today’s world.

A program for single family procedure to help with China’s Cultural Revolution was put

in effect. China emerged from the social disruptions and economic stagnation of the Cultural

Revolution, its government launched market reforms to revitalize the economy. In 1979,

recognizing that population control was essential to raise living standards; the one-child family

policy was introduced. This policy limits family size, encourages late marriage and childbearing,

and the spacing of children when second children are permitted. Family planning committees at

local levels develop local strategies. The one-child rule applies only to urban residents and

government employees. In rural areas, a second child is allowed after five years, if the first is a

girl. A third child is sanctioned in some ethnic minorities and in remote, under-populated areas.

Economic incentives for compliance, substantial fines, confiscation of property and loss of job,

etc. are used to enforce the policy. The policy is based on universal access to contraception and
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abortion, eighty-seven per cent of all married women use contraception. Ninety per cent of

them use intrauterine devices. Most women accept the method recommended by the family

planning worker. Reliance on long-term contraception keeps the abortion rate low. 25 per cent of

Chinese women of reproductive age have had at least one abortion, as compared with 43 percent

in the United States. Abortions are sanctioned when contraceptives fail or when the pregnancy is

not approved. Unattended and unsanctioned deliveries do occur. Maternal mortality doubles in

such instances. This is clearly not what god wanted us to do to humankind.

China’s sex ratio for males and females is another topic that is degrading to the people of

China. The sex ratio male, female, live births; is 1.03 to 1.07 in industrialized countries. In

China, this ratio has increased from 1.06 in 1979, to 1.11 in 1988 and 1.17 in 2001, with even

higher ratios in rural areas. In rural areas, the sex ratio is 1.05 for the first birth and rises steeply

subsequently. In urban areas, the sex ratio is 1.13 for the first birth and peaks at 1.30 for the

second birth showing that some urban Chinese make the choice to perform sex selection with the

first pregnancy, since they are allowed only one child. ("www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov") In rural areas,

most couples are permitted to have a second child, especially if the first is female. So if the

second (or subsequent) child is female, the pregnancy often "disappears", allowing the couple to

have another child in an attempt to have a son. It is believed that sex-selective abortion and

non-registration of female births account for the increased sex ratio. Sex-selective abortion is

illegal but is known to be widely carried out, helped by a burgeoning private sector. Although

female infanticide is probably very rare now, less aggressive treatment of sick female infants

does occur. The Chinese government has acknowledged the social consequences of this gender

imbalance with possible increased mental health problems, socially disruptive behavior among

men, kidnapping and trafficking of women for marriage and increased numbers of commercial
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sex workers. This may have contributed to a rise in human immunodeficiency virus infection and

other sexually transmitted diseases. The one-child policy is probably just one contributory

factor in the skewing of the sex ratio in favor of males. Female infanticide resulted in a high sex

ratio in China in the 1930s and 1940s. Other Asian countries with declining fertility rates and a

traditional male preference also show comparable ratios – Taiwan, 1.19; Singapore, 1.18; South

Korea, 1.12, and north India, 1.20 – probably reflecting sex-selective abortion. In China, the

marked increase in the sex ratio between the 1980s and 1990s coincided with much easier access

to cheap ultrasoundgraphy. ("www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov") It is likely that, even in the absence of the

policy, sex-selective abortion would continue. The solution will come only with a change in

attitudes toward female offspring. Publicity campaigns promoting girls are now widespread and

acknowledge the importance of such change.

When the one-child policy was introduced, the government set a target population of 1.2

billion by the year 2000. The census of 2000 put the population at 1.27 billion, although some

demographers regard this number as an underestimate. (Hesketh) The collection of population

statistics in China is known to be subject to manipulation to conform to family-planning

regulations, since the process is overseen by officials who are often unwilling to uncover any

violations of the rules. Chinese authorities claim that the policy has prevented 250 to 300

million births. The total fertility rate, which is defined as the mean number of children born per

woman, decreased from 2.9 in 1979 to 1.7 in 2004, with a rate of 1.3 in urban areas and just

fewer than 2.0 in rural areas. (Hesketh) This trend has created a distinct demographic pattern of

urban families with predominantly one child and rural families with predominantly two children.

This is half correct because China released another law called the late, long; little policy which

means you had to wait longer to have a child!

China is experiencing rapid economic growth. Both have huge, poor, rural agrarian

populations. Neither country provides an effective social security net for the elderly. Both have

realized that population control is essential to increasing per capita GDP. In both societies there

is a strong cultural preference for sons. Both are facing declining sex ratios through use of sex

selective abortions. It is ethically unacceptable to take a human life, be it by murder, death

penalty or abortion. Abortion becomes acceptable as the lesser of two evils when the life of an

unborn child is pitted against that of the mother. Many societies also accept abortion to preserve

the mental and social well being of the mother. Feminist groups have struggled long and hard to

make abortion legal and easily available to women. They assert that women must have the

absolute right to decide whether or not to carry the child to term as it is their body that will

nurture this child and they will put in the labor to raise it till maturity. If we accept this position,

we must also accept the right of a woman to choose the size and gender balance of her family.

For the state to encroach on this right would be justifiable only on the principle that the good of

the many, the society, supersedes the good of the few, the woman and her family.

In conclusion, the human race in China is being taking away because of the powerful

government of which god has created. This is not constitutional and is beyond one of the many

cruelties of the world to exist and continue to this day. The thought of having an abortion is not

one of favor in many family lives in China. China’s one child rule is one of the most absurd

policies to be carried out in the world today.