One Child Laws
Since 1979, China has had some form of a one child policy. The one child policy was implemented in an attempt to control China’s growth. The one child Law fines and can even force women who have more than one child to have an abortion. Predictably, critics around the world, including the U.S. Government, have called for an end to the one child law. I agree that forced abortions are wrong, but I feel that laws that limit the number may one day be needed. Most American’s today feel that women have a right to decide how many children they have. Women’s rights are clearly violated under the one child law. However, could the one child law serve a, “Greater Good”, by decreasing the population and relieving stress on valuable resources essential to the survival of mankind such as food and water. We as Americans don’t have to worry about over population, but with a population of over 1.3 billion, China does. The UN predicts that the world population will grow from the current 6.7 billion to over 9.1 billion by 2050. A 2.5 billion person increase in the world population will continue to strain our already limited resources. Americans use more resources and energy per-capita than any other country in the world. This means that if Americans continue using resources at the current rate, they will run out of resources even quicker than other countries. Even if Americans do decrease their wasteful usage of resources the time will eventually come when there are simply too many people for the world to support. Some day Americans could be forced to make a decision: either allow the population to continue to increase to an unsustainable level, or limit the amount of births to stabilize the population. I believe that even though it is unpleasant to think about a one child law or something similar to it will have to be implemented in the future. The ultimate question we will have to ask our selves is which is worse, limiting couples to one child, or creating a world in which our children would not be able to find enough food?
3 comments:
This was appaling. I have never heard the details of the One Child Laws and I am disgusted with China's government. I understand where you are coming with in that China's growth is a risk factor, but I too agree that abortion is wrong and I don't agree with the fact that China's government can force people to have them.
I definitely don't think that the One Child Law and forced abortion will serve any greater good. Just look around our own country and see how many people are waiting for children of their own and going through long waiting lists to adopt. I believe that killing in any form, even fetal, is immoral. Especially when couples all over are wishing for children of their own.
With keeping the children alive and fostering them to parents who can and want to take care of them, I bleieve that your final question is overridden There is a solution that does not involve limiting couples to one child or having children in a world where they cannot find food. The fact is that both of these can be avoided through adoption and fostering of children.
I have heard of these laws before, and am also completely perturbed by them. I hate to think about having to force mothers to have an abortion because they can only have one child. I too, am against the idea of abortion. Having this implemented as a law is disgusting. There is lack of freedom and instead, conformity overrules.
It is hard to come up with a solution to this problem. There are so many children waiting to be adopted already, and if children were being born and sent to adoption centers, they too would soon become overpopulated. And where would all the money to take care of their funds come from? The need to feed and nourish these kids then rests in the hands of the government-funded adoption centers. If the government doesn’t want these children to be born anyway then why would they be willing to contribute more money to the centers to keep them alive and well?
I really wish to stay optimistic here, but it seems as though either way overpopulation is going to take its toll. I don’t think America will ever make abortion a law in order to keep the population under control. I’d like to think we are more humane than that.
I do find this an interesting concept. I am not a fan of abortion myself, but I do recognize the fact that the world is growing more and more crowded each day. Not to mention that technology is coming up with ways for people to live longer. The Earth can only hold so much and what is the cost of that? What are we going to eliminate so that we can make room for all of us? I find it sad that my children or their children will live in a world without polar bears; and as each day progresses more land is devoured.
This problem has been addressed by some people. An interesting idea called vertical farming is seriously being considered. Vertical farming is basically a large skyscraper that is about a city block and each level grows a different produce. The bottom most layer would consist of a grocery store. Even livestock could be kept there. Plus with all the genetic engineering of our food—which is already a common practice—we might be able to sustain the population longer, I don’t know. But the Earth only has only so much land,, water, and other resources for us to use up. Then what? I don’t think America will ever an act that limits the number of children one has, not to mention forcing abortion.
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