China's one Child Policy

China’s One-Child Policy

In November 2013 the Chinese Communist Party ( CPP ) announced the ‘loosening’ of China’s One-Child policy. After over thirty years with many Chinese parents’ limited to only one child, it was declared that parents who are only children themselves are now able to have two children. This recent easing of the One-Child Policy will have little impact on restoring the damage caused over the past three decades. The Chinese Government should have abolished this policy before it began, and to be making only minor adjustments 30+ years later adds insult to injury. The results of the One-Child Policy have backfired, the devastation is severe, and the road to recovery is extensive.

In the late 1970’s, as China’s population was nearing one billion, the Chinese Communist Party launched an extreme measure of birth control known as the One-Child policy after attempts at encouraging the public to decrease the number of children per family did not provide the results needed in the minds of the China’s leaders. This policy, which came into effect in September of 1980, was introduced as a drastic measure to control the rising population in China which the Government believed was the major contributor to social, economic, and environmental problems. They were convinced that reducing families to only one child would begin to increase the living standards of the Chinese people, reduce the level of infrastructure needed to support the increasing population, and improve the overall well being of every one in China. The Government persuaded public support by providing forecasted population numbers that suggested a doomed future for China if extreme measures were not taken.

Never in history, nor since, has such a violation of human rights been shed. Not only is the policy itself a violation of basic human rights, intruding on men and women’s reproductive freedom, but the way the policy has been enforced has received much criticism. Family Planning Officials impose threats, fines, and in some cases force abortions on violators of the policy. The Financial Times reported since 1971 doctors have performed 336m abortions, inserted 403m intrauterine devices, and completed 196m sterilizations. Female babies have also fallen victim to the policy as the cultural preference for boys has led to a significant gender disparity. According to National Bureau of Statistics of China census data the gender ratio was 117.9 newborn boys for every 100 girls from November 1, 2009 to October 31, 2010. To meet China’s preference for boys’ sex-selective abortions were common until 2004 when this practice was banned. The policy does have additional clauses allowing for some couples (mainly those who live in rural areas), whose first child is female, the ability to have a second child. These two practices have created a gender imbalance in China resulting in 32 million more marriage-age men