Birth Control - Or Manslaughter?

I am a firm believer that there are too many children on our planet.

Like their parents, most of these children are destined to live in poverty and die young.

It is a well known phenomenon that in the poorest countries, families tend to be larger.  This is partly because of a lack of adequate birth control but the main reason is that parents allow for a high mortality rate when planning their procreation.  They need surviving offspring to look after them when they are old.

China has tried to restrict population growth.  Families are limited to one child, except in certain rural areas where two are allowed.

Some of the results of China's population control measures are horrifying.

For example, women are often pressurised into having terminations up to the eighth month of their pregnancies.  Officials are penalised if local birth rates are above targets set by Central Government.  They therefore use all of their powers to stay within those targets.  In China such officials are hugely powerful.

The contrast with the West is striking.

Here in the UK, recently a woman who terminated her pregnancy in the eighth month was sentenced to 8 years in prison for Manslaughter.  In China, similar actions by an 'Official' would probably invoke no penalty.

Sometimes I think our World is not a very nice place.  This is certainly one of them.