An Ethical Approach On The“Universal Two-child Policy”

Marxism holds that human being is engaged in its own reproduction while practicing material goods reproduction,whereas objectively the production of material goods and the production of human being need to maintain a certain proportion,that is to say,the condition of population has promoting or retarding effect to the development of social economy.The birth control policy of a country is an important means to regulate the reproduction of human beings.As the most populous country in the world,China's family planning policy has attracted much attention.The “universal two-child policy” is a sub policy of the family planning policy in China,which is timely adjustment and improvement of its family planning policy.Certain historical conditions will give birth to particular birth ethics,and birth ethics has major impact on birth policies.In ancient times,affected by the low level of productivity,self-sufficient small-peasant economy and wars etc.,the birth ethics of “more children,more happiness” became the mainstream thought.In modern society,with the liberation of productive forces and China's opening up to the outside world,the concept of birth control was introduced to China and,though not effectively practiced,had certain impact on the traditional birth ethics.In contemporary society,the development of productivity greatly liberated human being's hands and the drawbacks of large number of people began to emerge and even hinder social development,therefore the family planning policy was put on the agenda and the birth planning ethics gradually came into being.The “universal two-child policy” is the product of the time,its implementation was bound to produce tremendous positive effect,effectively ease the issue of disappearing demographic dividend and visibly optimize the population characteristics,which makes it ethically justifiable.In the meantime,there are inevitably ethical dilemma such as the ethical limitation to the actualization of reproductive rights,the inconsistency of the pursuit for the quality and quantity of population,the double-edged nature of assisted reproductive technology(ART),etc.Those ethical dilemmas necessitate an active approach to finding a way out.Breakthrough should be sought from multiple facets and angles including government,society,and families to ensure maximized positive effect of the policies.Principles of birth ethics are effective guidance to the implementation of birth policies.Basic principles of birth ethics includes“moderate birth”,“eugenics”,“reproductive health”,etc.Their connotation doesn't stay unaltered and should get enriched and expanded in accordance with the change of time to make it more significant and relevant to the time.