The Importance of Reproduction Policy of China - Essay Example

The Importance of Reproduction Policy of China Introduction Many countries have developed and created a number of policies to help them deal with the several challenges that are presented in their countries. While some of these policies are aimed at controlling certain factors, there are those that are meant to protect certain elements in the said countries. The said policies usually touch on as many areas of the country as possible. One of the areas that are mostly affected by the constant and regular modification of the policies is the healthcare sector. Under this, there are several policies that have been established to deal with the reproductive healthcare issues. Among the countries that have set up a strict rule on reproductive health is China. Despite the fact that there are a number of individuals and organizations who have not agreed with the reproductive policy in China citing several of its shortcomings, the policy still plays a vital role in the country and continues to serve the important function for which it was created. The policy has placed China in one of the greatest experiments that are related to demography in the entire world. With this, it has involved the epic struggle to limit and stabilize some of the three factors that have been considered to be very crucial to enable the countries accrue international wealth and power. These include resources, human fertility and population. The Reproductive policy in China This policy is also commonly referred to as the one child policy. It was created in the year 1979 by the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in the effort to limit the population growth in China’s communist group. It operates on the basis of limiting each of the families in China to have only one child each. This is mainly because since the era of the Hans dynasty, China has continuously had the largest population all over the world. It covers about 63% of the population. The term is derived from the Chinese term Yousheng which literally translates to Healthy birth. This is what the policy has been able to achieve in China since it was introduced 35 years ago. It is during this time that China adopted the one-child policy, which for about the 1.4 billion people population that is found in the country expresses the official government policy that requires each family to have only one healthy child. Though with a high rate of importance, the Yousheng is also considered to be eugenics. It is because most critics claim that it is a controversial family planning program that has led to the gender imbalance. This has had a negative impact in the whole of the world (Manderson & Whiteford 123). Importance There are a number of reasons why the policy that was implemented in China to control the number of births and hence improve most of the functioning in the country can be considered to be of great significance and importance. The policy, which was created by the Government of China in 1980, has helped to avert approximately 400 million births since its inception (Fong 62). It was realized that overpopulation in any country was a hindering factor to a number of the numerous activities. For the last 30 years, the one child policy in China has greatly helped in the essential reduction of the population in the country. This is of great benefit to China which is considered the most populous country in the world since it has a population of 1.4 billion. One of the important aspects of this one child policy in China is that it has helped to curtail the rapid population growth in the country. With this came as many benefits as possible which include the significance of a manageable population. With a smaller size of the population, several factors can be improved (Newbold 242). The main purpose of the reproductive policy was to decrease the number of child births in the country and maintain their number of citizens within a manageable range. This has been the case since with the policy the rate at which the population grows has been reduced significantly. In turn, it has led to an immense increase in the rate of modernization. In particular, the available resources can be used in a better way. This is because the pressure exerted on the various resources that include water has been reduced. The one child policy has in a great way reduced the pollution of the water and the disturbance that was experienced in the ecosystem the use of the natural resources has also been reduced to a low level. In this sense, the reproductive policy has enabled the increase in food supply. In the same way as in the pre-modern era, the population size of China has been important in relation to the element of economic productivity. Another related factor to this is the ability to use the limited resources in a comfortable manner (Greenhalgh 42). Owing to the fact that the population has been reduced significantly, there has been a chance that the resources in the country are well distributed. These include the educational resources, the health resources as well as the chances that are available for employment. This has enabled a great improvement in the economy of China in terms of its productivity and that of its citizens. The other important element that can be associated with the implementation of this policy is related to the health of the members of the nation. This is in terms of the fertility and especially that of the women. Research shows that spacing and the element of giving birth to a few children helps to enhance the health of the mothers. Having only one child in China has greatly enhanced the fertility levels of the children and their mothers. In addition it has helped in helping to improve the life of the population. For instance, since there are those families that have been allowed to have two children, they are requiring to wait for about 3 to 4 years to get their second child. This adequate spacing has brought several advantages that include the ability of the body to retain its initial state as well as a high level of productivity within the given period. Gaining access to medical services has been made easier and more quality. Many elements that include the mortality rates and the rate of poverty have significantly declined in China since the advent of the policy and its introduction. The status is also contributed by the rewards and other gains that are given to the families that observe the China’s one child policy. For instance, the families that comply with this policy benefit from the reception of higher wages, better schools, and the ability to obtain assistance of the government in terms of getting government loans. This has enabled them to improve their lives in a number of ways through making use of these advantages and the various resources. Conclusion The reproductive policy or otherwise known as the one child policy where each of the families in China was only expected to have one healthy child was developed with the need to ensure that most of the resources and factors in China were improved. This followed the intense increase in population to the extent that it was likely to present a lot of challenges with regards to the limitation of resources and the health of the population in the future. Its implementation has seen China go through several positive changes since the number of births has decreased significantly. It is because of the reproductive policy or the one child policy in child that the population growth in China and the suitable policies that have been dealt with have helped to test for the successive leaders. However, it is only for those families that have accepted to adhere with the policy as proposed to those that have continually declined to accept and implement it as expected. Works Cited Fong, L. Vanessa. Only Hope: Coming of Age Under Chinas One-child Policy. New York: Routledge. 2004. Green halgh, Susan. Just one child:science and policy in Deng’s China. California: University of California. 2008. Manderson, Lenore, & Whiteford, M. Linda. Global health policy, local realities : the fallacy of the level playing field. Boulder, Colo [u.a.] : Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000. Newbold, Bruce. Six Billion Plus: World Population in the Twenty-first Century. New York: Routledge. 2007. Read More