China's One Child Policy

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One Child Policy Over population has been a global issue for decades. Medical advances have made it possible for people to live longer and have multiple births, which are just some of the factors contributing to this social problem. Many countries have attempted to battle this issue, but none as intensely as China. China allows the government to have full control over family planning to help reduce the population. In 1979 China created a policy called the "One Child Law" which limits couples to only one child. Although the Chinese government hopes to curb the population boom and benefit society, the One Child Policy has morally questionable results, negative impacts on Chinese society, which should be changed. China originally created this policy to control the nation's population with hopes to stop wide-spread poverty. The people alone could not solve the problem, so the government decided to intervene, creating the One Child Policy. The law was established by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 to limit China's population growth, and to conserve resources. The One Child Policy was designed to be temporary; however, it still continues to this day. The policy limits couples to have one child only. Consequences such as: fines, pressures to abort a pregnancy, and even forced sterilization accompanied second or subsequent pregnancies (Rosenberg). The policy was initially more like a voluntary agreement; where families who decided to have only one child would get full benefits for that child. Couples with two kids would get the same benefits as ones with one child if it was authorized by the government. However, couples who decided to have a third child would suffer penalties. The couples who had more than two children had to unde... ... middle of paper ... ...ontext. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. Littlejohn, Reggie. Diane Kinderwater. China’s One Policy. KCHF. TV-11. Santa Fe, New Mexico. Oct 29 2010. Television. Milwertz, Cecilia Nathansen. Accepting Population Control: Urban Chinese Women and the One-Child Family Policy. London: Curzon, 1996. Print. Rosenberg, Matt. "China One Child Policy - Overview of the One Child Policy in China." Geography Home Page - Geography at About.com. 02 Mar. 2011. Web. 08 Aug. 2011. . “The world needs mothers.” Christian Science Monitor 28 Sept. 2010. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. Wu, Harry. “China’s One-Child Policy Violated Human Rights.” China. Ed. David M Haugen. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2001. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 5 Apr. 2011.

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