Staredit Network

As we all know, the world is beginning to become very diverse and populated. But is it too populated? In areas such as China, population has become a serious problem for the economy. Policies have been put in place to encourage, or even force families to be able to bear only one child. Many people have been looking at this from both sides, some say that it is necessary and that there is nothing immoral about it, while others say that it is a violation of freedom and human rights to do something as severe as child birth restriction.

In short, the question is:
Do you believe a government should have the power to control the birth of children?

Yes, as long as you are living in their country you should have to follow their rules, don't like it, leave the country. It's for the good of the world/country, because overpopulation is going to be a huge problem.

Lets apply that to the American Revolution. "Its their country so you have to live by their rules. Pay their taxes or get the freak out."

When the population presents serious economic and social problems, it is the government's right and duty to protect its people. If that means birth control, so be it. People have sex, it's a fact. Somebody quote me on that somewhere. Anyway, American families have an average of something like 2.3 children/family. That's fairly healthy, with a decent control over growth. China used to have something outrageous like 8 children/family. Their culture clashed with reality, and reality is winning. China simply cannot support 8 children/family anymore.

Overpopulation wont happend. There are so many things going on during the world that even lower such rates. Like cataclysm's (however its pronounced). Wars, genocide and other failures. If it was such a problem then how come now adays people are starting to adopt.

That was true a while back, but we've cured most diseases, and earthquakes don't happen very often.

The REAL problem with the legislation restricting the number of children families can have in China, is not in the action of reducing children alone. But because most of the female children are killed before birth, and their population is nearing a 2:1 male/female ratio.
(Because males carry on the family name, females are not as prized, as it means your family lineage would end.)

Personally, I don't disprove of limiting the number of children one family can have. Not because I want to reduce the population, but that when legislation like this appears, it usually signifies that that area is overpopulated. When people get too crowded, the standard of living goes way down. When the standard of living goes down, people get angry, and angry people are not productive.

So since when was the British taxing a colony a worldwide problem like overpopulation?

Since when has China been killing children to fit into their policy? Never? Yeah, I think that's about when.

Your information is not only incorrect, but dated, by about twenty years. China is actually LOOSENING birth control policies and letting people have more children (reasonable amounts, though, 2-3 kids). Where did you read that China was tightening it's birth control policies? A copy of the New York Times from 1984?

As much as urban legend and myth would like to tell you otherwise, people in China did not generally kill their female children, and there was NEVER a LAW against having many children. However, the government encouraged less children per family as ideal, and families with more than 2 children were not given the benefits you generally get with children (Health care aid, tax deductions, etc.) and they had to pay for children, after the second child, to go to school, as opposed to the government paying for it. That is were your urban legend of enforced birth control, forced abortions, etc. come from.

Women were given tax breaks if they voluntarily became sterile. Kids are still assets to families in China in some places (child labor, etc.), much more so than in the United States. Once the actual economic value of kids becomes a source of debt (i.e. standards of living for kids, banning child labor, etc.), the problem may solve itself.

Well first of all, you need to do research before you dive into topics. Overpopulation is happening and it can be proved with statistics. Secondly, adoption doesn't increase or decrease the population rate, so it has absolutely nothing to do with this topic.

Not china as a whole, but people have found dead baby girls left out in the streets.

If a female is the first or if the first is disabled... This was from a source in 2002, and I have not heard that it has changed much since then.

It's just an asian thing. But they like Male births more than female births because of the name you leave in the history. And it's a rule that male last names are passed down. And they give a lot of crap about it compared to most of people in the western culture.

And I disagree with this. Although it will help the economy out if they reduce population.

Well, simply adopt children to areas where overpopulation isn't a problem has to do with this topic, that's what I thought he meant by it.

I believe you mean, "it's just a universal thing".

Yes, but I'm pretty certain that he didn't mean that.

What a statement! Sources?

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It's a problem. I'm pretty sure the risk of overpopulation far outweighs the 'right' humans have to have an extra baby or two

The government should have no right to tell a woman what she can and cant do with her own body. It sickens me that anyone thinks any different on this. Overpopulation, Economic Damage, whatever it is, should not rule out the basic right of personal choice.

Eks dont be so ignorant, they chinese goverment had to do something about overpupolation.
screw freedom if it lead to doom.

But if she has the baby (or even just plans to have it), then it's no longer just her body that's the issue. There is a difference between the ability to have an abortion and the ability to have a baby; the latter affects the rest of society far more than the former does.

Besides, mandatory birth control isn't the answer. What we need are social and economic systems that don't give such huge rewards for having kids. The reason overpopulation is a problem isn't because people like to have sex, it's because people want to have kids to support them in their old age.

I have an answer for you, well two actually: socialism or capitalism. The whole "keeping your people impoverished because you won't make a minimum wage" thing really isn't working out.

Yes, however moraly wrong it may be or whatever the fact is that somethings need to be controlled to a degree.

Also, this definently is not only an asian thing. Some of the poorest countries in the world have birthrates currently at 4 kids per couple.

I only used China as an example because it was the most abused by mass media (therefore everyone would know about it).

P.S. Don't refer to China as all of Asia.