Implementing the one child policy and the challenges
Introduction
One child policy was introduced in china in 1978 and started it operation in 1979. China has been considered one of the most populated nations in the world. This has hence caused pressure on the resources of the country. The policy was hence introduced to regulate the population and facilitate proper distribution of resources (Bongaarts & Susan 595). Despite its success in reducing the population and enhancing the life of people especially those in the urban areas, it has been criticized and blamed for health hazards experienced in china. Many couples take advantage of the policy to abort their children as well as abusing family planning medications. This has posed a health hazard as well as promoting discrimination in the land. In this paper, we shall analyze the policy and the implications it has had in china.
Historic development
During the reign of Mao Tse Tung, he encouraged high population in the country with the belief that it will increase economic development of the nation. During this period, couples were encouraged to marry and have children at a younger age as well as avoid using any form of family planning procedures. Spacing between children was also discouraged and hence growing the population almost by double within a short period of time. Just as expected, the high population helped china grow economically due to the adequate human resources that could be obtained at a cheaper cost. On he other hand, it also became costly to the economy as the many people scrambled for the available resources that were becoming scarce day by day. Since giving birth to many children had been accepted and appreciated by the people, they did not take up the responsibility of ensuring they gave birth to the amount of children they could take care of.
In 1978, the Chinese government foresaw the issue that would ultimately come out of hand unless something was done. It was then that the one child policy was introduced. Under the policy, couples, and especially those living in the urban areas were encouraged to have one child. This was followed by heavy penalties and bonuses that will be paid by couples who defaulted the rule. The couples who also observed the policy accessed more privileges compared to those who defaulted. The policy however had some exceptions where some couples in the rural areas were allowed to have two children. For the sake of gender balance, couples who had a female first-born child were allowed to have a second child. Other exceptions such as homes with children with disabilities, death of the only child were also exempted from the policy.
There were also cases where couples from richer backgrounds applied to have a second child by paying huge bonuses. This among other factors hindered the one child policy from fulfilling its purpose. The policy has also been criticized of not considering other health and risk factors associated with the policy. One of the negative impacts is the increasing number of abortions in china. In as much as the government rejoices at the ability of having put a check on china’s population, they have chose to be blind at the number of abortions that are being carried out, some in unhygienic and unhealthy environments. Women who went to hospitals and were found to be pregnant when they already had a child were forced to carry out abortions. This was done not considering the psychological effects it would have had on women. Some women who also feared the repercussions of having a second child resorted to family planning methods that had not been approved by a gynecologist.
A policy that was meant to benefit the country by regulating its population worked negatively especially on the low income earning groups. They who were allowed to have a second child were required to have at least four years space in between. Implementing the policy was marred with other challenges such as earthquakes that killed many people at ago and the discriminatory procedures that favored few members of the society (Hesketh 1170). It is ironic to make a poor mother pay huge bonuses for having a second child and giving privileges to a rich family that has only one child. The fact that the public was not adequately educated on the issues of family planning and reproductive health. What the government was mostly concerned about was the reduction of the population and not the reproductive health of the country and especially women. It is for this reason that more people have become desperate to the extend that they fly to other countries just to have the freedom they desire.
Resolution
With the growing crisis of healthcare and the fact, the policy is discriminative, it will be necessary for the country to either enhance the policy or make it less discriminatory. Giving rich families the ability to have as much children as they want as long as they are able to pay for it is likely lead to high rates of corruption. It will also be strenuous for a poor couple that got a second baby to be forced to pay huge bonuses for a mistake that they were probably blind off. It is vital for a country to regulate its population yet it has to be done in a more civilized manner. This should basically begin with educating people on the importance of family planning and why they need to come up with a family that they will be able to manage. If a couple believes that they are able to manage five children with the evidence of their resources, it will be unfair to dictate on them what they are to do with their lives.
For the couples whose economic status may not allow them to have bigger families, it will be important if they are educated on the same and be given the necessary guidance and counseling. This should be followed by free medical checkups and family planning procedures. They should be advised on the best family planning procedures that will be applicable to them as well as seek proper medical attention especially when they realize they are pregnant. China is blind to the fact that abortion is not an alternative to unwanted pregnancies. Encouraging them to use appropriate family planning procedures to prevent them from unwanted pregnancies rather than forcing them to abort or use family planning medication that will be detrimental to their health will be beneficial to them.
China needs to appreciate the fact that in as much as they need a lesser population to distribute adequately their resources; it should not be done at the expense of people’s health. It will be more difficult to manage a sick nation with fewer people than just having a population that is bringing value to the economy. Having more people who are healthy and hardworking will salvage for the extra expenses, as long as the people are empowered. If the policy has to work for the good of the nation, it is also important for it to be implemented equally without discriminating based on class and social status. The government should also not be so hard on the poor people especially when they get a second child contrary to what the policy says. Instead, they should be guided and counseled on what needs to be done and how they can avoid being pregnant again.
Conclusion
After analyzing the one child policy in china, we realize that it is empty and void. The government has managed to fulfill its wish of regulating the population yet the side effects are more dangerous than the results. The whole idea of regulating the population was a good one, but it was done without proper planning and measures to contain the negatives. Most families in china are psychologically disturbed for what may be considered an imposition of a lifestyle they do not understand. This is like forcefully limiting their personal freedom and rights without convincing them the importance of such limitations. Such frustrations will in turn affect the productive capability of the people. some of the natural catastrophes that affect the country such as frequent earth quakes even makes it complicated to implement the policy considering tat many other people die and yet the living are discouraged from giving birth.
Annotated bibliography
Bongaarts, John, and Susan Greenhalgh. "An alternative to the one-child policy in China." Population and Development Review (1985): 585-617.
The article by Bongaarts and Susan looks at the implications of one child policy in china, its strengths and weaknesses. After assessing some of the faults that may be experienced, the authors suggest some of the alternative ways through which the country can ensure a balance in its population.
Hesketh, Therese, Li Lu, and Zhu Wei Xing. "The effect of China's one-child family policy after 25 years." New England Journal of Medicine 353.11 (2005): 1171-1176.
Years after the implementation on the one child policy in china, it has had several effects, some positive and negative. The authors of the book critically analyze how the policy has affected china and the way forward.
