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2009; Zhang et al. 2009). Claims of the programs' success in general are also claimed to be highly exaggerated in official reports, which often provide the only numbers available on the subject (Jacka 2007; Xiaokang 1996).
The human rights issues that the programs either directly and explicitly entail or quite predictably and verifiably lead to are the main source of the criticisms directed at China's official birth control policy and programs. Both infanticide and forced abortions are practiced not only by families but also by the Chinese government and various provincial authorities, which is considered a major rights violation by much of the rest of the world (Li et al. 2009; Zhang et al. 2009). The question of whether or not it is ethically permissible for the state to control fertility and conception at all is also still a major debate, though most academics that have truly scrutinized the issue seem to agree that China must have some form of population control or face collapse from within (Jacka 2007; Peng 2000).
These human rights issues are exacerbated by the unequal enforcement of birth control policies and the unequal availability of educational and contraceptive programs and supplies (Hsu 1985; Li et al. 2009; Zhang et al. 2009). Many rural areas, including the majority of the populations in several provinces, have lessened access to such programs and supplies, and also show higher rates of illegal pregnancies, self-induced or forced abortions, and infanticides than populations located in more developed provinces and regions (Hsu 1985; Li et al. 2009). China's one-child-only policy has also led to the "Four-Two-One" problem; the transition from the traditional Chinese family to single-child families means that the youngest generation of single-child parents -- the one child -- will ultimately be responsible...
This has created economic strain and impracticality just as the program was attempting to alleviate similar (though reverse) economic conditions (Jacka et al. 2007).
Conclusion
The effect of contraceptive availability has been varied in different areas in China, but essentially it as led to increased attempts at social control. These have had tremendous effects on the culture, as well as on the ethical view of issues like fertility and birth rates. China's population cannot sustain its growth and remain able to find enough resources for common survival, but state intrusion into the matter -- especially in its more invasive programs -- does not seem to be the answer. As the twenty-first century progresses, a solution of one sort or another must inevitably emerge.
References
Hsu, M. (1985). "Growth and Control of Population in China: The Urban-Rural Contrast." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 75, no. 2:241-57. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 4, 2010).
Jacka, T. (2007). "POPULATION GOVERNANCE IN THE PRC: POLITICAL, HISTORICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES." China Journal no. 58 (July 2007): 111-126. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed January 16, 2010).
Li, H.; Li, D.; Li, H. & Diao, Y. (2009). "Contraception and Induced Abortions for Women of Reproductive Age Married in Recent Years in Rural Areas of Shandong, China." Gynecologic and Obstetric Investigation 68, issue 3: 174-80. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 4, 2010).
Peng, X. (2000). "Population Policy and Program in China: Challenge and Prospective." Texas International Law Journal 35, issue 1: 51-63. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 4, 2010).
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