Albert Mohler: When Abortion Collides with Totalitarianism

April 16, 2009

The vast nation of China remains under the control of one of the few surviving Communist regimes on the planet. Over the last two decades, that regime has redefined Communist economic theory, allowing private capital and a consumer market to emerge alongside state control and ownership. Nevertheless, the totalitarian nature of the regime reaches even into the most intimate dimensions of life. The most insidious example of this totalitarian impulse is China's infamous "one child only" policy.

The policy limits most Chinese couples to only one child. Reports of forced abortions and sterilizations abound. Couples in rural areas with a girl as their only child may apply for permission for a second child, in hopes of a boy.

The preference for boys is overwhelming in the Chinese culture, and especially in rural areas. The urgent desire for sons has led to two horrifying developments -- the abortion of girls and the abduction of boys. The abortion of baby girls is now a well-established fact. The abduction of boys in China is less known in the West, but it is now attracting attention. As The New York Times reported April 4, 2009, "Although some are sold to buyers in Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, most of the boys are purchased domestically by families desperate for a male heir, parents of abducted children and some law enforcement officials who have investigated the matter say." the rest