China's One-Child Policy Has Multiple Adverse Effects

China’s One-Child Policy has Multiple Adverse Effects

On September 25, 1980, the most extreme, yet most successful population reform to date in human history was officially passed. The controversial “one-child policy” was harshly implemented starting in the 1979 and strictly enforced, leading to abortions and infanticides across the country, primarily of infant girls. Today, China boasts the world’s greatest population at 1.37 billion, yet it has one of the most severe gender discrepancy problems in the world. This is a direct result of a preference for male offspring. Although it is hard to imagine how much more enormous this population could have been had the one-child-policy not been implemented, there are substantial social, ethical, and

The controversial “one-child policy” was harshly implemented starting in the 1979 and strictly enforced, leading to abortions and infanticides across the country, primarily of infant girls. Today, China boasts the world’s greatest population of 1.37 billion, yet it has one of the most severe gender discrepancy problems in the world. This is a direct result of a preference for male offspring. Although it is hard to imagine how much more enormous this population could have been had the one-child-policy not been implemented, there are substantial social, ethical, and economical consequences experienced today that has resulted from this policy. To start, China claims one of the world’s largest gender population discrepancies in the world. This problem stems directly from the Chinese culture’s emphasis on the importance of male offspring. Currently in China, there are 115.88 boys born for every 100 girls. The world average gender ratio is anywhere between 103 to 107 boys to every 100 girls (Hunter 2015). It is estimated that “by 2020, the country will have an estimated 30 million bachelors – called guanggun, or “bare branches”. “ (Tatlow 2015). These numbers leave many Chinese men to a fate of dying single. There are projections that this excess in men will lead to “increased sexual violence, general crime, and social instability” (Tatlow 2015). The loneliness of many of these men who are unable to find mates will lead to a higher rate of depression and psychologically-related illnesses such as suicidal tendencies. The Chinese preference for male offspring in combination with the restriction of having only one child has led to horrible ethical consequences. There is a saying in rural China, “The birth of a boy is welcomed with shouts of joy and firecrackers, but when a girl is born, the