Female Infanticides
Madison Barlow
Mrs. Burns
English 10 Honors
April 10, 2013
Female Infanticides in China For many decades China has been carrying out brutal actions among female infants which are known to be female infanticides. Female infanticides started in 1957 when China’s Chairman Mao Zedong wanted the country’s population to stay under six million for many years (Jimmerson). Leaders then came to a realization that a long term action would have to take place. Therefore they proposed a law stating that a couple could only have one child and two at the most if the net household income increased (Jimmerson). When this law was proposed, families pushed for males, this led to a significant decrease in the female population in the rural areas of China. As women were starting to become pregnant under the new one child law, they wanted to give birth to males. Reasoning behind this was the males carried on the family name, they were the ones that honored their ancestors, and the ones to take care of their parents as they got older (Jimmerson). Because of the great demand for male babies the women sought to find out ultrasonically whether they were having a daughter or a son (Schorn). The woman would go to the closest village in her town where they do an ultrasound to figure out if she was having a baby girl or boy (Schorn). If the woman found out she was giving birth to a girl, she would do one of two things to get rid of the baby. She would either have a sex-selective abortion, or once the baby is born the family would neglected and mistreat the girl until she was killed. Sex-selective abortion is when the baby is killed inside the mother’s stomach before birth only because tests show that a female would be born. Then if the mother chose to keep the girl, in most cases she would be severely abused before the age of three (Banister). Those choices would be continuously made until the couple has a boy or if the couple gives up on having children. When they cannot have any
Mrs. Burns
English 10 Honors
April 10, 2013
Female Infanticides in China For many decades China has been carrying out brutal actions among female infants which are known to be female infanticides. Female infanticides started in 1957 when China’s Chairman Mao Zedong wanted the country’s population to stay under six million for many years (Jimmerson). Leaders then came to a realization that a long term action would have to take place. Therefore they proposed a law stating that a couple could only have one child and two at the most if the net household income increased (Jimmerson). When this law was proposed, families pushed for males, this led to a significant decrease in the female population in the rural areas of China. As women were starting to become pregnant under the new one child law, they wanted to give birth to males. Reasoning behind this was the males carried on the family name, they were the ones that honored their ancestors, and the ones to take care of their parents as they got older (Jimmerson). Because of the great demand for male babies the women sought to find out ultrasonically whether they were having a daughter or a son (Schorn). The woman would go to the closest village in her town where they do an ultrasound to figure out if she was having a baby girl or boy (Schorn). If the woman found out she was giving birth to a girl, she would do one of two things to get rid of the baby. She would either have a sex-selective abortion, or once the baby is born the family would neglected and mistreat the girl until she was killed. Sex-selective abortion is when the baby is killed inside the mother’s stomach before birth only because tests show that a female would be born. Then if the mother chose to keep the girl, in most cases she would be severely abused before the age of three (Banister). Those choices would be continuously made until the couple has a boy or if the couple gives up on having children. When they cannot have any