The People's Republic of China has been struggling for decades to
reduce its population through implementation of population control
policies.' China has a land area slightly smaller than the United
States,2 and recent statistics set its current population at
approximately 1.3 billion people.' While having only seven percent of
the world's arable land, China's population constitutes twenty-two
percent of the world's population. In an effort to reduce the Chinese
population to a level that more equally matches the country's
available resources and to improve the nation's economic standing,5
the Chinese government has implemented various population control policies since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.6
China's attempt to reduce the population is based upon the idea that
as China modernizes and develops economically, fertility will decline.!
However, modernization and economic development are dependent
upon population reduction! In an effort to break the interdependence
of development and population, the Chinese government has
instituted the one-child policy.9 By controlling population, the
government hopes to help push economic development and
modernization along.' ° The goal is to achieve a balance between
human procreation and economic production.''
The Chinese government has ample resources to achieve its
population goals. 2 Reports of coercive and compulsory intrauterine
device (IUD) insertions, abortions, and sterilizations have emanated
from China over the last few decades, drawing criticism from the
United States and other members of the international community.13
Though the Chinese government relentlessly denies the accusations, 4
reports from both inside and outside China strengthen suspicions of
coercive tactics