China’s Second Thoughts About Family Planning
Amid New Doubts, Harsh Policies Linger
BEIJING, OCT. 22, 2005 (
Zenit.org).- China’s fierce demographic control policies have exacted a heavy toll during the last quarter-century. An overview of the consequences appeared in an article in the Sept. 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The Effect of China’s One-Child Family Policy after 25 Years," authored by Therese Hesketh and Zhu Wei Xing, noted that the regulations cover matters ranging from family size, late marriage and the spacing of children. The term “one-child policy” is, in fact, misleading in that it is applied only to a part of the population, primarily government workers and those living in urban areas. Rural families are generally allowed a second child, five years after the birth of the first, especially if the first was a girl.
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