When you think of family you think of a big happy family with a husband, wife, and at least two kids. It is likely that one kid is all there is but most parents would like more than one, hence the phrase one big happy family. In some countries parents cannot fulfill their dreams of having a big family. China has had a population policy ever since 1979. This is because their population rates were climbing vastly. Their policy was one child. Making a law of only being able to have one child is ridiculous. I honestly don’t agree with the one child population policy. The question that needs to be asked is that although the policy is intended to benefit the country in the long run is it ethical, does it allow for many violations of human rights? Do the potential benefits of decreasing the population growth rate outweigh the harms that the policy can cause?
In the 1970’s China’s population was growing at an alarming rate, nearing and later surpassing one billion people. China’s government began to fear for the welfare of the nation as a whole, asking them how the country can support their growing population. Their answer was that the country would not be able to function if the population continued to grow as this rate so it was necessary to find a way to decrease the growth rate. In order to control the population the Chinese government, in 1979, created the one-child policy (Austin 601). This one-child policy was originally supposed to be a short term solution to the problem of a quickly growing population (Austin 601). Posters were made up of showing an “ideal” family, husband and wife with their ONE kid. The poster had the saying “Few born, fine born; help revitalize China”, along the side of it.
This policy has created debate and controversy since it was instated in the late 1970’s. The policy called for government support of the use of contraceptives, abortion and sterilization. Furthermore, the policy has lead to sex-selective abortions and...