China's One-Child Policy - Becky Bigelow (Editor)

Becky Bigelow
Ms. Stein
“Editor” paper
27 January 2009

The One-Child Policy in China

More than seven million abortions took place in China in 2006. This massive number is because of the One-Child Policy instated in China. Our group believes that this law does not allow the Chinese people to decide how many children they want to have, and that is against their rights as human beings. The One-Child Policy in China is flawed, evil, and goes against the human freedoms that people are born with.

Our group feels that the One-Child Policy has caused many problems within the Chinese population. Many only children feel added amounts of pressure because they are the only person their parents' attention is focused on. It is also possible that, because the child does not have siblings, they are given gifts and other unnecessary items (such as toys, games, etc.) by their parents, which can lead to bratty behavior and an “I'm better than you” outlook on life.

There are many stipulations to the One-Child Policy that makes it seem better than it is. For example, if a couple lives in a rural area with a low population, they may have more than one child. If their first child was a girl, mentally handicapped, or has passed away, a Chinese couple may have another child. These stipulations make the situation a little better, but there are circumstances that make people want to only have one child. For example, every industry in China has a family-planning agent that monitors the number of children all of the workers have. If the entire group only has one child, they all get a bonus of some sort. Instead of letting people decide on their own how many children they want to have, the Chinese government gives them ultimatums to help them decide.

It has been declared that everyone has the right to life. If this is true, then the Chinese birth rate would not be at one child per couple. The average amount of children in a Chinese home before the One-Child Policy was instated was eight, and now it is at one. Also, the number of abortions in China has risen drastically since the policy began. This means that more Chinese women are getting abortions so they are not fined or have their child taken away from them after they are born. The aborting of an unborn child should not occur as often as it does in China.

My group believes that aborting unborn children is wrong, especially in large numbers. The vast amount of abortions that takes place in China upsets each one of us. There should be a better way of family planning, but instead, the Chinese resort to aborting children. Abortion should not be the only option to pregnant Chinese women. The Chinese people need to be educated on forms of birth control, to prevent a child from being conceived and having to abort.