Woman's right whether to have another child

Despite the easing of the family planning policy last year that allows couples where either party is a single child to have two children, many scholars are advocating that China should relax the family planning policy further. And since the number of families applying to have a second child under the recent reform has not been as high as expected, they argue preferential policies are needed to encourage families to have a second child. Last month, Mei Zhiqiang, a political advisor to Shanxi provincial committee, went even so far as to suggest that China should make it compulsory for every family to have two children.

Over the past three decades or so, the family planning policy restricting most families to one child has accelerated the aging of society and produced a number of social problems, such as the imbalanced gender ratio. However, whether all married couples should be allowed to have a second child and whether "preferential" policies are needed to encourage more couples to have a second child have become bones of contention.

For example, the suggestion that there should be a compulsory requirement for each couple to have two children exposes the lack of legal awareness among some of the country's political advisors. Legal awareness means understanding and following the letter of the law. Political advisors bear an important social responsibility, and they should consciously develop legal awareness so they can offer policy suggestions under the framework of the law.

Under Article 17 of The Population and Family Planning Law, citizens have the right of reproduction. It is simply a right, which means every citizen has the freedom not to exercise it.

According to Article 51 of the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women, women have the right of reproduction according to the country's laws and regulations, and also have the right to not give birth. Article 51 not only clarifies the right of reproduction, it also upholds women's right to not give birth.

Article 16 of the United Nations' Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women also requires State Parties ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children.

Giving women the right to abort a pregnancy is an important progress of human civilization, and a major achievement of women's rights. It legalizes women's control over their bodies and their lives, allowing women to continue their studies and careers like men, and enables more women to enter the public sphere. It challenges the traditional patriarchal concept of separating women in either the private and public sphere.

However, there is still gender discrimination against women in the population and family planning regulations in many regions. For example, in many provinces, a couple that only has one daughter is one of the conditions that rural family applies for giving birth to a second child. But the rural family that has given birth to a son is not qualified to have a second child. Such a regulation is gender discrimination that goes against modern conception of equality of men and women.

And the proposal by a political advisor named Zhang Lihui that the maternity leave in China should be extended to three years, although it sounds like a plea to strengthen women's rights, in practice may worsen the already serious discrimination against women in employment and promotion.

The suggestion that more attention be paid to the adjustment of the population structure is of strategic significance, and it is not only necessary, but also urgent. However, we should not rely on compulsory measures to build a balanced society.

No matter whether it is under the partial two-child policy or a comprehensive two-child policy, a woman's right to decide about child birth needs to be guaranteed by the law.

The author Liu Minghui is a law professor at China Women's University.