Controversy and Criticism of the One-Child Policy

­China's one-child policy, as it is today, will remain in place at least until 2010 when it will again be reviewed by the government. In the meantime, China's demographic decline is resulting in a rising ratio of elderly to wage-earning adults. The smaller workforce comprised of only-children is challenged to support two sets of aging parents: China lacks adequate pension coverage and social welfare systems, leaving young workers to pick up the burden.

Over the decades, China has come under fire, accused of human and reproductive rights issues, female infanticide and unsafe practices. It's suggested that China's family planning policies force or coerce women into having abortions and sterilizations through social, economic and psychological pressures, discriminate against women, and encroach on the human right to reproduce.

Additionally, the one-child policy along with China's traditional preference for male heirs has contributed to the problem of gender imbalance. Girl infants are abandoned at a high rate. Female infanticide, the act of intentionally killing female infants and fetuses, is an ancient practice and an acknowledged problem in China. In 2005, an estimated 118 boys were born for every 100 girls, peaking at 130 boys for every 100 girls in some parts of the country. By comparison, the average boy-to-girl ratio in industrialized countries is roughly 104 to 107 boys for every 100 girls [source: Washington Post].

Amid the controversy, China continues to look ahead at ways to improve its population policies. The National Population and Family Planning Commission of China (NPFPC) is planning programs and advances in the quality of both social and reproductive health services. Already in many of China's provinces, the requirement to obtain prior government permission to have a child, known as birth permits, has been lifted. The NPFPC also has plans to study state population development and social support programs to help rural families practice family planning ("fewer births, faster affluence").

To address the social stigma of having girls and the related sex-ratio imbalance, the NPFPC is launching a pilot project named "Girl Care." And in an effort to improve reproductive health, family planning workers will offer women more informed choices in contraception. China has also made it illegal to discriminate against women who give birth to baby girls and has prohibited sex-selective abortions after ultrasound. One publicity campaign in Hebei Province includes billboard advertisements reading, "There's no difference between having a girl or a boy -- girls can also continue the family line."

In working efforts with agencies around the world, the NPFPC is talking about shifting focus to provide higher quality, safer and more appropriate reproductive health and social services to women, adolescents, elderly and migrants.

For more information about China, contraception and adoption, visit our resources on the following page.