China's One-Child Family Planning Policy

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses China's family planning law, explaining its history and background in order to clarify the government's decision to implement such a law. Detailed information is provided on the rules, regulations, implementations, and exemptions of the policy. The writer examines its pros and cons, including the argument that it is in violation of human rights, and points out some of the overlooked positive results of the policy. The writer notes that China's one-child policy was reviewed in 2005 and explains one of the options that have been suggested for the future. The paper concludes that the one-child policy can mostly be considered a success, as it has alleviated the economic, social, and environmental problems associated with a population of that size. This paper contains MLA-style footnotes but does not include a works cited page.

From the Paper:

"Despite its name, the one-child rule applies to a minority of the population; for urban residents and government employees, the policy is strictly enforced, with few exceptions. The exceptions include families in which the first child has a disability or both parents work in high-risk occupations, or are themselves from one-child families (in some cases). 70 percent of the population live in rural areas and in these areas a second child is generally allowed after five years. This provision sometimes applies only if the first child is a girl - a clear acknowledgement of the traditional preference for boys. A third child may be allowed among ethnic minorities and in remote, under-populated areas."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Michael Bristow, "Has China's one-child policy worked?" BBC News, September 2007 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/700093.stm> (11 September 2008)
• Wikipedia contributors, "One-child policy," Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopaedia, September 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=One-child_policy&oldid=237745393> (11 September 2008)
• Therese Hesketh, Li Lu, and Zhu Wei Xing, "The Effect of China's One-Child Family Policy after 25 Years," The New England Journal of Medicine, September 2005 <http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/353/11/1171> (9 September 2008).
• Penny Kane and Ching Y Choi, "China's one-child family policy," BMJ, October 1999, vol. 319, p. 992.
• December 2001, <http://www.gov.cn/english/laws/2005-10/11/content_75954.htm> (11 September 2008). p. 4-5.

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