Annie Elledge

September 23, 2010

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY ABORTIONS IN CHINA?

I wanted to know why abortions have become more popular in China in
the past ten years. I think that the question has many answers that have to
do with the Chinese culture, such as in China a married couple is only allowed
to have one child. Also, abortions are the main method of birth control in
China and there is an extreme lack of sex education. Another reason for the
amount of abortions are that many couples in China prefer to have boys
instead of girls.
One of the biggest reasons for abortions is Chinas One-Child Policy.
This policy states that a married couple is only allowed to have one child. This
law was put into place in 1979 to cut down on costs for food and shelter. The
law has forced many Chinese women to get abortions for fear of paying fines
and having a loss of income. In some cases, the Chinese government will
persuade a woman or mans employer to fire them for having two children.
The lack of sex education in Chinese schools is another factor that
determines the abortion statistics. In a recent survey, about 50% of the
participants claimed to have had sex without using a contraceptive. Out of
those participants, 21.3 become pregnant and 90% had an abortion. The
absence of proper sex education is leading to more diseases and
pregnancies, because men and women arent properly informed on safe sex.
Another factor for the number of abortions in China is gender
discrimination. Numerous couples prefer to have a son rather than a
daughter. The Chinese have usually preferred having boys, because they
believe that men will be able to better provide for their family and carry on
the family name. In fact, gender discrimination is so prevalent that about
10% of abortions in China are based off of gender. Almost 20% of pregnancies
in China are influenced using ultrasound, if the baby is a girl; she will most
likely be aborted.
One of the most dramatic causes of abortion in China is forced
abortion. About 11 million abortions are performed every year in China and a
vast majority of those are performed on women against their will. In 2007, 61
women were dragged to local hospitals and injected with an abortive drug.
This attack was allegedly carried out by Family Planning Officials. Many forced
abortions are the result of families breaking the One-Child Policy.

In conclusion, I believe that there are two main reasons for the
increase of abortions in China. First, the facts that many schools in China
dont offer sex education classes, so many Chinese are uninformed on safe
sex. Second, Chinas One-Child Policy, although it is effective in maintaining
Chinas economy it has forced many families to give up their children, that
they have the right to have. Chinas increasing amount of abortions has many
causes, but I believe that the two that I have just named are at the root of the
situation.

Works Cited
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<http://www.theage.com.au/world/chinas-onechild-policy-turns-30-2010092615sd4.html>.
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