Consequences of China's One Child Policyy

390 Words2 Pages
China's one child policy was established by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 to limit China's population growth, as it was expanding at a high rate. Although it was meant to be a "temporary measure," it has continued a quarter-century after its establishment. The policy limits a couple to have one child only, there were consequences for those who did not obey such as; penalties, pressures to abort the excess child, and even forced sterilization. However people living in rural areas and minorities living in china are not subjected to this law. Even though there are many ethical beliefs that have always been against this policy, the rule has been estimated to have reduced population growth in the country of 1.3 billion by as much as 300 million people over its first twenty years. This rule has caused a disregard for female infants. Abortion, neglect, abandonment, and even infanticide have been known to occur to female infants, due to the policy. As family’s were restricted to only one child, most of them wanted boys, as it was considered in their culture that boys would look after their parents and carry the family name. The result of such drastic family planning has resulted in the ratio of 114 males for every 100 females among babies from birth through to children at the age of four years. Normally, 105 males are naturally born for every 100 females. Now that millions of people in China have no siblings, when they are young adults in or nearing their child-bearing years, a special provision allows millions of couples to have two children legally. If a couple is composed of two people without siblings, then they may have two children of their own, therefore preventing a less dramatic population decrease. Although IUDs, sterilization, and abortion (legal in China) are China's most popular forms of birth control, over the past few years, China has provided more
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