Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

China May Drop 1-Baby Law

Officials want more girls, but fear triggering baby boom

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 29, 2008 7:32 AM CST
Email

(Newser) – China, faced with an aging population and too few women, may end its controversial one- child-per-family policy. The law that allowed urban couples only one child and rural families two is credited with preventing 400 million births over three decades. But cultural preferences for males has also created a troubling gender imbalance as millions of female fetuses have been aborted, reports the Guardian.

Officials are concerned, however, that lifting rules could create a "free for all," said one observer. Beijing officials are adamant that some controls must stay in place. "This has really become a big issue among decision makers," said a family planning official. "We want to have a transition from control to relaxation incrementally."

Parents perform yoga exercises with their babies at a yoga center in Xiamen, in southeast China's Fujian province. China is considering changing laws limiting most urban couples to one child and rural families to two in an attempt to control population growth. (AP Photo)
Parents perform yoga exercises with their babies at a yoga center in Xiamen, in southeast China's Fujian province. China is considering changing laws limiting most urban couples to one child and rural...   (Associated Press)
Police officers hold two week old babies, while investigating two suspected baby traffickers, at right, in a police station in Zhuzhou in central China's Hunan province ..in this March 1, 2007 file photo. The two women, a mother and daughter-in-law, admitted buying the babies for a total of $1,006....
Police officers hold two week old babies, while investigating two suspected baby traffickers, at right, in a police station in Zhuzhou in central China's Hunan province ..in this March 1, 2007 file photo....   (Associated Press)
Nurses attend to newly born babies at a hospital in southwestern China's Chongqing municipality. China is considering changing laws limiting most urban couples to one child and rural families to two in an attempt to control population growth. (AP Photo)
Nurses attend to newly born babies at a hospital in southwestern China's Chongqing municipality. China is considering changing laws limiting most urban couples to one child and rural families to two...   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

Children in China

China to reconsider one-child limit
New York Times

Bring on the girls; hope for sisters for generation of only children
Times (UK)

Chinese consider 'one-child' policy shift
Financial Times (UK)

 
China • birth rate • population control • one child policy • University College London • fines • National Population and Family Planning Commission • Institute of Child Health • family planning law

More Newser Stories

China Hangs Onto 1-Child Policy

Forced Abortions Continue in Parts of China

A Year After China Quake, a Baby Boom
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne