Rights Denied: Family Planning in China

Mark Fazzolari Junior Division Individual Website

The Chinese government believes it has the responsibility to limit the size of Chinese families. Laws and policies have succeeded in limiting overall population growth, but also have affected the countrys ratio of men to women, ratio of old adults to young adults, economic conditions, and social issues such as marriage and abortion. The Chinese government has a responsibility to pass laws that protect Chinese citizens rights. At first, I had trouble finding a History Day topic for this years project, but then I looked at my interests. I have always liked to know what kind of issues are going on in the world around me. Being a Roman Catholic, I am strongly against abortion and will do what I legally can to prevent it. Family planning in China fits both of these interests perfectly. When I heard the theme Rights and Responsibilities in History, I took the opportunity to learn more about the topic. To begin my research, I searched for primary sources on the Internet. I found a government picture and a poster from 1950 that were propaganda used to communicate the governments family planning preferences to the Chinese people. I also found a list of important dates regarding family planning. I watched an interview with a Chinese woman who discussed overpopulation and family planning. I found some statements from both United States and Chinese leaders about Chinas policies. I went to the Pennsylvania State Library to do additional research, finding useful secondary sources. I interviewed a priest to better understand the Catholic Churchs position on the issue of abortion and other issues related to family planning. I also interviewed a Pennsylvania mother who adopted her daughter from China in 2012; my questions focused on her familiarity with Chinas One-Child policy and whether the policy affected her decision to adopt from China. While conducting all this research, I took notes to use for my project. I noted every source in my annotated bibliography immediately after I used it. Finally, I planned the design for my website.

I chose to make a website because I have always been greatly interested in technology. Also, I have always wanted to make my own website. First, I examined all of my materials and organized them by theme. These themes became the basis for the various tabs for the website. I ensured that I had a variety of interactive media such as photos, web links, and music. For my website, I made sure that I integrated fonts, objects, graphics and designs in a way that illustrates my topic and supports my thesis statement. My topic relates to the theme Rights and Responsibilities in History because family planning involves the responsibility of the government and the rights of its people. Chinese policy regarding family planning has affected overall population, ratio of men to women, ratio of old adults to young adults, economic conditions, and social issues such as marriage and abortion. The rights of the Chinese citizens have been taken away by Chinese policy. The Chinese government has a responsibility to pass laws that protect the rights of its citizens.