China Offers Families Money to Have Girl Babies Instead of
Abortions
Beijing, China (LifeNews.com) -- China's population control
program of forced abortions and sterilizations has caused an
epidemic of familles seeking to give birth to a baby boy. Sensing
that this trend needs to be reversed, government officials are
instituting a new program paying couples to have female babies.
According to the Chinese government, about 117 boys are born for
every 100 girls. In most industrialized countries the numbers are
much closer to parity. In an effort to tackle the growing gender
imbalance, China will offer free schooling and better housing for
families with girls. Families with girls will also be given
preferential treatment in welfare allowances and employment. The
China Daily newspaper reports that family planning officials want
its Care for Girls pilot program to bring the ratio down to
between 103 to 107 boys born for ever 100 girls. In Chinese
culture, boys have traditionally been more valued than girls --
especially in rural areas. Boys are expected to do much of the
work, especially farming, and inherit land and property from
their fathers. But it wasn't until the adoption of the one-child
policy -- when population control officials began forcing
familles to have abortions or sterilizations and jailing of
burning down the houses of dissenters -- that Chinese families
began to kill girl babies.
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