China, Benevolent Dictatorship, Will Now “Let” People Have Two Children

Facing an aging demographic and a lopsided, male-dominated society which has made common the problems of prostitution, sex slavery, and the specter of “shared wives,” the Communist government of China has now decided to “permit” married couples to have two children.

The government mandated one-child policy, instituted by the Communist Party in 1979 in a misguided attempt to limit population growth, has shown itself to be harmful to society in more ways than one. There are too few younger people to care for the older generation. Family relationships have been weakened, as there are few aunts, uncles, or cousins. With most families preferring to have a male heir, female fetuses have been aborted and newborn female infants have been abandoned or placed for adoption. In some cases, the government has stepped in to force abortions.

In contrast to the situation in the United States, where “reproductive rights” means the right of women to have abortions, Maya Wang of Human Rights Watch complained about continued government interference with women’s fertility in China:

 “As long as the quotas and system of surveillance remains, women still do not enjoy reproductive rights.” 

Ma Jian, writing in The Guardian about her own experience of forced abortion, said:

“When the squad turned up, I was cradling my youngest. The officers tore her from my arms, kicked me in the belly and forced me into the minibus. In the clinic, they gave me a shot in the arm. When I woke up two days later, the baby in my belly was gone. I didn’t realise until a month afterwards that they’d sterilised me as well. Every woman in this county has been sterilised – apart from the ones who managed to escape. Now look what I’ve become: a useless, withered wreck.” 

But now, the Chinese government has slapped a band-aid on the wound which their aggressive population control policy has created. Instead of forcing abortion after one child, they will now force abortion after the second child is born. What could go wrong?