Posted: November 18, 2015 Contributor: PRJKT RUBY
China Ends One-Child Policy But Is That Enough?
In this day in age, more and more American women are experiencing sexual freedom. It’s all too easy to overlook the fact, however, that women in other areas of the world are still restricted when it comes to their own health and reproductive rights.
On the surface, last month’s news that China has ended it’s one-child policy sounds like reason to celebrate. After all, the archaic practice which was started in the late 70’s in a drastic attempt to control population, has been forcing women to have abortions or become sterilized for decades. While both of these things are technically illegal in China, they still happened all too often despite the law. So why is the end of such a strict policy not quite enough?
The new policy allows married couples to have two children…but what happens if a third is conceived? Sadly, the outcome will likely be the same and still the ability for a woman to plan her own family is still out of reach.
The driving factors behind this change in policy have little to do with women’s rights and more to do with the current state of the economy and workforce. A statement from the National Health and Family Planning Commission claims that ending the policy will “increase labor supply and ease pressures from an aging population.”
It seems the news is being met with mixed feelings by families in China with some happy to grow their families and others content with their only child. The cost of raising a child in China is likely to discourage many couples from taking advantage of the new two-child policy.
It will still be some time before the policy fully goes in to effect but still many are left wondering, when will China grant women their own reproductive rights?