Forced abortion and forced sterilization

China, as a whole commits about half a million third-trimester (ninth month) abortions annually. Most of these babies are fully alive when they are killed, and virtually all of these abortions are performed against the mother's will. Women are often imprisoned, brainwashed, and refused food until they finally break down and agree to an abortion. The actual methods by which the doctors carry out the "procedures" are brutal. Injections of Rivalor, commonly known as the "poison shot" causes the baby to slowly die over the course of two to three days at which time the baby will be delivered dead. Pure formaldehyde is also injected into the soft spot on the baby's head, or the skull is crushed by the doctor's forceps. Doctors in China are known to carry a few "chokers" in their pockets. These are similar to garbage-bag ties but longer. They are placed around the baby's neck and twisted, effectively strangling the child. Two other methods of aborting a child are by drowning the newborn in a bucket of water in plain view of the mother, and suffocation by towels forced into the baby's mouth as the doctor plugs the newborn's little nose. The latter two methods are used especially to "teach a lesson in obedience" and to act as a reminder that the People's Republic of China has strict family laws that are to be abided by its citizens.

The most dramatic revelation of China's inhuman birth-control policies came with the defection to the USA in May 1998, of Mrs. Gao Xiao Duan, who had served for fourteen years as the director of a so-called "Planned Birth Center" in a town in Fujian province. Mrs. Gao gave a detailed testimony to the House International Relations Human Rights Subcommittee and also extensive interviews to American television and newspapers. Mrs. Gao confirmed previous reports that the Chinese government routinely subjected those who violated its one child policy, to forced sterilization and forced abortions including women as much as nine months pregnant. Mrs. Gao revealed that the "Birth Center" maintained detailed files on the reproductive states of every woman under the age of 49. A network of paid informers slipped tips into a box about women in that area who had become pregnant without official authorization. She also added that in the first floor of the Center was a birth control jail for women who tried to resist, and jail cells for family members or friends who might attempt to intervene.

Mrs. Gao had managed to bring out videotapes and pictures, and with the help of Chinese dissident Harry Wu, had smuggled out hundreds of pages of official documents, which experts in the field say are the most damning evidence yet of the kind, of tactics used by China's planned birth program. It turned out that Mrs. Gao's defection came as she, herself, was in danger of being sterilized for violating China's one-child rule. She had secretly adopted an abandoned young boy, considered just as illegal as giving birth to a second child, and an informer had reported her to the Communist party.

Certain apologists for China maintain that, inhuman as it may seem, China is effectively doing what needs to be done to avert a population explosion, which could have serious global repercussions. Certainly, no sensible person will dispute that an effective birth-control program is necessary in China. On the other hand there is every indication that such brutal and inhuman measures as are being currently practiced are disturbingly short-sighted. Female infanticide figures have soared and earlier projections of drastic male female demographic imbalance are beginning to be realized. The latest research reveals that China's one-child policy has significantly failed because of widespread resistance by the peasantry with the collusion of local officials. In 1998, officials distributing emergency relief food in Paizhou county in Hubei province in the wake of summer floods discovered that the officially allotted quantity was not enough. The truth then emerged. There were 10% more people in the county than was recorded in the most recent census. Critics of the coercive birth-control policies believe that widespread resistance and cover-ups has made the government miss its original target by 300 million. It is also debatable whether China has actually done any better than countries which have not resorted to coercion. Fertility rates in India have dropped sharply, especially in areas where good healthcare and education is available.7 Moreover, India's average fertility rate is only marginally higher than that of rural China. In addition, India claims that its national family planning program has managed to prevent 230 million extra births and that its population will stabilize in 2040, just as China does.

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