The Right to Choose vs. The Right to Survival

Awareness, Feminism | Posted by Becka W on 08/24/2009

The Right to Choose vs. The Right to Survival

I was recently in China from 7/17 – 8/2 on a family vacation (we take some pretty unique vacations, haha). We went on this fabulous tour from Shanghai to Wuhan to a 5-day Cruise down the Yangtze River, and then Chongquing; Xian; Beijing; Guilan, and finally Hong Kong.

Aside from really and truly learning how wonderful A/C is (when the high temp for the day is 101 degrees Fahrenheit; it truly is wonderful!), I tried to learn as much as I could about the Chinese culture and government and how they intertwine while I was there. As a US History, Politics, Society & Culture minor I’ve always been fascinated by how all of these things often intersect and reflect off of one another even when we think they don’t. So when my tour guide Mathew started speaking about the controversial Chinese law which limits many couples to only one child, the “One Child Policy”, my ears perked up.

China started its law limiting each married couple in China to one child in 1979 as a way to curb the exponentially expanding population in the interest of not only the Chinese economy, but the environment. In the big cities, families are strictly limited to the one child rule – but, as my tour guide explained, the policy is “flexible” – if your first child is mentally or physically disabled, you can apply for permission to become pregnant and have another child; or if you live in the countryside; where you rely on farming and manpower to continue your livelihood, you can have two children. Also, it allows exemptions for ethnic minorities and parents without any siblings themselves – they, too, can have more than one child.

I began wondering what the difference was between this policy and the ones more conservative voters and activists are trying to enact in the good old U.S. of A.

Both attempt to limit a woman’s options and power over her reproductive system. See, in my opinion, “pro-choice” means just that – being an advocate for women to have as much choice over their reproductive system as possible, whether that means fighting limits on the right for a woman to get an abortion or the limits on the number of children a woman can have.

The one-child policy particularly concerned – and fascinated – me since, when a woman accidentally gets pregnant in China, she is encouraged to have an abortion or forced to pay an inordinately high fine. My tour guide noted that abortions are not so controversial in China, since many don’t believe in an organized religion; which often serves as a barrier to getting an abortion.

Shibaozhai Pagoda: a temple on the Yangtze River

As an environmental activist, I am fully aware of the costs of having such a large population – the earth simply cannot support us at the rate we are consuming natural resources and having children. In countries like India, where the tradition is sometimes to have upwards of 8 or 9 children – often against the woman’s will; there is such a high need for simple things like food and water, and so little of it available to them. And yet all of these children aspire to live like I do, as a 20 year old American – sure, I’ll be thousands of dollars in debt when I get out of school, but I am fortunate enough to have a laptop, a cell phone, an iPod, and the opportunity to have a great education at a private university.

In total, the Chinese government estimates that it has three to four hundred million fewer people in 2008, with the one-child policy, than it would have had otherwise. Chinese authorities thus consider the policy as a great success in helping to implement China’s current economic growth. The reduction in the fertility rate and thus population growth has reduced the severity of problems that come with overpopulation, like epidemics, slums, overwhelmed social services (such as health, education, law enforcement), and strain on the ecosystem from abuse of fertile land and production of high volumes of waste. Even with the one-child policy in place, however, China still has one million more births than deaths every five weeks and there are still six hundred million people in China living on less than two dollars a day.

So the question is – is China simply smarter than the rest of us and doing what it takes to help curb their demand of natural resources and help alleviate the exponential population growth that plagues our planet? Or, are they simply taking it too far – forcing the women in their country into a lifestyle they wouldn’t exactly choose on their own?

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