GRSJ224/reproductionpoliticsinchina

History

The Chinese government's earliest forms of governance on reproduction and contraceptive use came in the form of propaganda posters that acted as a patriotic call for birth control in the name of productivity and health. As the population continued to grow at high rates, their efforts expanded to include mandatory sterilization and contraceptive use. At the beginning of 1980, the most drastically influential One-Child policy was introduced and caused China’s accelerating rate of natural population to decline. The most intimate parts of women’s lives were criticized, and the collective right of couples to determine their own family size was ignored. Likewise, the consequences of ignoring the policies were inhumane and included practices such as forced abortion, loss of jobs, or substantial fines. In January 2016, the government abolished the One-Child policy; however, the communist government and their traditional viewpoints remain deeply influential on Chinese attitudes towards contraception and the rearing of children.

Government Initiatives

China has one of the highest rates of contraceptive use in the world with 84.6% prevalence among women who are currently married or in union (Tang et al.).The high figures owe much to China’s vast network of family planning centres and other government initiatives in local communities that followed the implementation of the One-Child policy in 1980.

Family Planning Program

During the early 1970s, China launched a nationwide family planning program offering birth control methods and family planning services. Promotion of the widespread use of long-term contraceptive methods has been one of the program's core strategies, however these policies have not always been enforced in the most ethical of ways. Although it was never official regulation, the policy caused harsh practices like forced abortion and sterilization. The campaign has also exacerbated social practices such as female infanticide and the abandonment of infant girls. While these measures and practices have since become highly illegal, they still perpetuate a common Chinese idea that women are subordinate to men (Li 145).

One-Child Policy

In 1980, the One-Child policy was originally introduced by the new pragmatic government led by Deng Xiaoping. At first, this was meant to be a one generation policy that was enforced at the provincial level in more densely populated areas, however it eventually became a policy adapted for all areas. It was introduced to slow the population growth rate, and the Chinese government estimates that it has prevented about 400 million births (Barrows, SP). “Between 1958 and 1962, less than 20 years prior to the policy’s adoption, about 45 million Chinese died of famine and hunger related illnesses.” Therefore, while the substantial decrease in the growth rate had positive economic impacts on an improved standard of living and decreases in greenhouse gases, it put women in a vulnerable situation that created violence across all ages, from infancy to adulthood.

Issues surrounding the One-Child Policy and Implications for Females

Among the violent practices that punished women in the form of forced abortion and sterilization, or loss of jobs, innocent infant girls often suffered the worst of punishments; death. The rise in female infant mortality rate was perpetuated by the traditional reproductive culture of son preference and amplified by the One-Child policy. In turn, the implications that this had on the sex ratio were also significant as “the number of boys per 100 girls born rose from 107 to 114, well above the biologically normal level of 105 to 106” (Greenhalgh 872).

The Impact of Gender Roles and Social Status on the Reproduction Initiatives

China's view on gender roles have made progressions over the decades, however there is still a strong need for equality; many of their traditional beliefs have shaped modern day China. Historically, "yin" or women have been described as soft, passive, and weak, while "yang" or men have been viewed as hard, dominating and assertive. This lead to the marginalization of women and a subservient nature to men. Often times, "their main role was to produce a male in order to carry out the families blood line," and this favouritism towards the male gender still exists today. This largely contributed to the power imbalance between men and women and has influenced the government's enforcement of reproduction policies. In this way, the government neglects any type of intersectional approach to account for the varying behaviours and necessities of people, so lower-class women are more vulnerable to reproductive discrimination. Some of the main social determinants of health that influence reproductive discrimination include: social status and class, barriers to education and healthcare, and gender. As mentioned earlier, there has been issues of unequal enforcement of policies amongst different racial minorities, class structures, central and rural regions, and over varied generations. For example, reproductive privileges may be created for for the wealthy, while socially marginalized couples are unable to gain adequate public services if they have unplanned children. This can be further illustrated through Zhang Yimo, a highly praised film director who fathered seven children with several women, and three of whom are legally registered from his current marriage (Shi 538). On the other hand, people were often employed to be paid informants and would routinely report on the unauthorized pregnancies of their neighbours, relatives, and friends. Not only did this create hostility amongst different groups of people, it invaded the most intimate parts of peoples’ lives.

China’s family planning policies target married women between the ages of 20-49, which is the window of reproductive age (Will, Rachel). Individuals in both urban and rural areas have access to free birth control methods, however these methods are primarily targeted at women. A lack of focus on how men contribute equally in the reproduction of a child is problematic because it reinforces social polarization of women and favours the male gender. Another group that lacks attention is unmarried youth, who often do not have the resources they need to properly deal with their sexuality, and in turn may be punished for unplanned pregnancies.

Contraceptive Methods and Trends

There is a heavy emphasis put on long term methods of birth control such as sterilization and IUD’S. Since a great number of semi-permanent or permanent contraception methods require surgical procedures, women suffer the risks and complications of surgery. Aside from the bodily risks, contraceptive options have also been minimal, especially in rural areas. The fear of more invasive methods such as sterilizations can add a psychological burden to the physical stresses of the body. Temporary methods of contraception such as condoms and hormonal contraception are used in low frequency which could be attributed to a lack of knowledge or inaccessibility (Will, Rachel).

Female and Male Sterilization

Female sterilization is a permanent procedure to prevent pregnancy. It works by blocking the fallopian tubes. The prevalence of the rate of female sterilization has fluctuated over time, specifically when the one-child policy was loosened in 1984 (Barrows, SP). Women are five times more likely to be sterilized than men, even though vasectomy is simpler and poses fewer risks than tubal ligation (Wang 573). This is problematic because it assumes that the women should take greater responsibility to control their fertility even though there should be equal accountability. Nonetheless, the government does not want to scrutinize men with invasive procedures because of their elevated social status over women. Ultimately, this has negative implications for women because it decreases the amount of choice they have when it comes to reproductive choices and leaves them situated in a patriarchal society that favours men.

IUD

The IUD stands for Intrauterine Device, and it is surgically placed into your uterus to prevent pregnancy. IUD’s are one form of long-acting reversible birth control. For more than three decades, it was national policy that almost all women have an IUD surgically placed following the birth of their first child. Again, this invasive policy stripped women and their partners of the basic right to determine their own desired family size. It has also created a health problem where older women suffer from the side effects of IUD’s that have been in their body well past the recommended 8 years. Although the Government has recently introduced a “benefit” to remove IUDS for free, they lack any sense of sympathy for their actions in the past (Wee, Sui-Lee).

Policy Today

In January 2016, the One-Child policy was changed to a two-child policy over concerns of as an active response to an ageing population. Although some celebrate the positive step towards greater personal freedom, ultimately, institutions should not have any control over a couple’s desirable family size. It is evident that in order to lessen the negative impact of the social determinants of health there is a need to negate the favouritism of men and upper class people. Moving forward, the gender imbalance is going to be a major problem. To put this in context, there is between 20 and 30 million young men who are not going to be able to find a wife (Tal, Alon). On the other hand, women will have to continue to distinguish themselves among a male-dominant workforce, especially when seeking promotion and CEO positions.

Works Cited

Barrows, SP. "China's One-Child Policy." Jama-Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 315, no. 21, 2016, pp. 2349-2350.

Century, Adam. “China's Colorful Family-Planning Propaganda.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 18 Nov. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/11/chinas-colorful-family-planning-propaganda/281594/.

“China to End One-Child Policy and Allow Two.” BBC News, BBC, 29 Oct. 2015, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34665539.

Greenhalgh, Susan. “Fresh Winds in Beijing: Chinese Feminists Speak Out on the One-Child Policy and Women's Lives.” Signs, vol. 26, no. 3, 2001, pp. 847–886. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3175541.

Li, Xiaorong. "License to Coerce: Violence Against Women, State Responsibility, and Legal Failures in China's Family-Planning Program." Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, vol. 8, no. 1, 1996, pp. 145-205

Rozelle, Scott, and Alexis Medina. "After the One-Child Policy." Stanford Social Innovation Review, vol. 14, no. 4, 2016, pp. 57.

Shi, Lihong. "The New Rich and their Unplanned Births: Stratified Reproduction Under China's Birth‐planning Policy." Medical Anthropology Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 4, 2017;2016;, pp. 537-554.

Tal, Alon. “In Praise of China's One-Child Policy.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 Aug. 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/alon-tal/in-praise-of-chinas-one-c_1_b_8020038.html.

Tang, M., Y. Mao, and Y. Chen. "Using Hormonal Contraception Reduce Unintended Pregnancy in China." Value in Health, vol. 17, no. 7, 2014, pp. A751-A751.

Wang, Cuntong. "Trends in Contraceptive use and Determinants of Choice in China: 1980–2010." Contraception, vol. 85, no. 6, 2012, pp. 570-579.

Wee, Sui-Lee. “After One-Child Policy, Outrage at China's Offer to Remove IUDs.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Jan. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/01/07/world/asia/after-one-child-policy-outrage-at-chinas-offer-to-remove-iuds.html.

Will, Rachel. “Contraceptive Use In China.” US-China Today: Contraceptive Use In China, 30 Mar. 2012, www.uschina.usc.edu/w_usct/showarticle.aspx?articleID=18021&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1.

Zhu, Xi, and NBER Working Papers. Intergenerational Transfer, Human Capital and Long-Term Growth in China Under the One Child Policy. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2013.