Birth control policies and the moral conundrum

The increase in China’s birth rate after the government eased its one-child policy does not necessarily mean that the infamous measure was dead wrong. But it at least tells the world how the Chinese feel about it, particularly when considering that nearly half of the children born in the wake of state “leniency” were to 
couples who already had a child. Ultimately, though, China’s measures to tackle its problems of overpopulation and underpopulation are one of the world’s most difficult moral issues.
Reports say the number of births in China has risen by nearly 8 per cent in the year after the government virtually did away with its unpopular policy. The country’s National Health and Family Planning Commission said a few days ago that 17.9 million children were born last year, an increase of 1.3 million from the year before.
Facing looming overpopulation, China enacted its one-child policy in 1979 to control population growth, a highly controversial move as having children was always associated with human rights. The policy was enforced in densely populated areas and 
violators subjected to fines and, in some reported cases, state-mandated abortions. The Chinese leadership’s attitude began to change when the country faced a rapidly ageing workforce despite enviable economic growth. The changing economy has been tied more and more to innovations, which require creativity of younger workers.
The government’s controversial one-child policy led to controversial practices. With Chinese families preferring boys to girls, some baby girls were allegedly killed at birth. In trying to control the population growth, the state became virtually responsible for serious threats of gender imbalance in the country.
Before last year, the Chinese leadership had gradually allowed more exemptions, such as letting rural 
couples in formerly-affected areas have a second child if their first was a girl. A third child was even allowed among some ethnic communities in under-populated areas. The considerable birth-rate increase came after 
the government moved to allow all married couples to have two children beginning in 2016.
There are now claims that families remain reluctant to have a second child because of financial reasons – the higher cost of living, especially those related to education. Modernisation and globalisation have led to an intense demand for places in China’s best schools, resulting in parents 
having to spend much money on their children. Simply put, not having the second child has been the family’s choice in a significant number of cases.
The point, though, is that it should be strictly the family’s business. Deciding whether or not to have a child, or the second and/or third one, is never a straightforward or black-and-white thing. In some cases, the decision can be right, but in others, it can bring about bad results. But it’s not something the government should sit in judgement on, not least because it’s the third person and because there are always political interests involved.
In fact, China’s change of heart has been influenced not by humanitarian factors, but by other needs, mainly economic ones. On the one hand, the U-turn makes sense. On the other hand, it is disturbing that more or fewer children can be born based on what rulers think. To be fair to the Chinese leadership, though, it is not the only group of people who think that this world is better off with birth controls.
Debate can easily reach the pro-life and pro-choice clash, which split the world into those who think abortions should be legalised and those who oppose such action. China has only taken this long-standing controversy to the extreme. With the world’s 
population continuing to shoot up and yet countries facing the dreaded prospect of becoming ageing societies, birth controls will remain one of humanity’s thorniest issues.