LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Most people are familiar with China's "one-child policy" that penalizes pregnancy with forced abortions, sterilizations, and even criminal sanctions. Yet few realize just how horrific the policy is in daily practice. 

It's no secret that boys have long been preferred to girls in Chinese culture. Males could work on farms and workshops and perform temple rites for their ancestors whereas women could not. And males could inherit property and keep wealth in the family. 

In Communist China, the concerns were eminently more practical. China's exploding population has long put a strain on resources and the quality of life for 1.3 billion people. To combat this, China instituted its infamous one-child policy. The policy was intended to last for only one generation.

Introduced in 1978, the policy now affects over a third of the women in China. The policy does not apply (as strictly) to rural families, minorities, or foreigners. There are other exceptions, in special circumstances. Regions such as Hong Kong are exempt. Still, the policy directly affects hundreds of millions of women - and the nation as a whole. 

According to Chinese officials, the policy has prevented more than 400 million births and it will be continued, despite its original intention to expire after one generation. 

Chinese officials now murder about 35,000 children in the womb per day.

These are the legal details, but they're just numbers on paper - until you see the real horrors behind those numbers. 

WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT FOLLOWS

Violators of China's one-child policy are routinely kidnapped and subjected to a form of forcible rape. Since many women want their babies, and will not give them up willingly, authorities must often take them by force, often kicking and screaming, and take them to "family planning clinics." Once there, they are subdued while the unborn baby is aborted. The procedure varies based on the age of the unborn child and the cooperation of the mother. 

In some cases, the mother is administered drugs which causes the baby to die and be expelled. But in other horrific cases, the baby, which can be at full term and ready for birth, can be forcibly pulled from the womb. One image that recently emerged from China shows a nine-month infant that was born alive and drowned in a bucket by authorities. 

Following the forced abortion, women can have an IUD inserted into their bodies to prevent future pregnancies. And just for good measure, they are forced to undergo regular "pregnancy checks" to ensure they have not become pregnant or removed the device. 

And at this point, it is almost trivial to mention the fines that can equate to months of pay for a working person. 

Don't forget the doctor bill, either.

The aftermath of such an experience is crippling. Former mothers have been known to commit suicide following these procedures, compelled by the emptiness they feel inside. 

 Chai Ling, the founder of All Girls Allowed, a nonprofit dedicated to ending these barbaric practices in China survived such an experience. She recently told a US Congressional panel of her experiences after fleeing to the US. She told the panel, "My husband and I had been so excited for our new baby. Now suddenly all that hope and joy and excitement disappeared. ... I was very depressed and despondent. For a long time, whenever I thought about my lost child, I would cry."

The official practice is terrifying, but to avoid fines and stigma, some mothers willingly submit to private abortions or infanticide. Horrifically, there are midwives who will strangle newborns with umbilical cords and record the baby as stillborn. In rural areas, children are still (although rarely) abandoned to the elements, despite the outlawing of such practices. 

THE FUTURE OF AMERICA?

This is what happens in a society that devalues life. 

Already in America, "family planning" exists to allow women to space their children apart by killing "poorly timed" babies - i.e. children are now a thing of convenience to the radical left. Children and women are objectified, and the womb is violable -- the new status quo in America. As unbelievable as it sounds, we remain just one governmental edict away from such horrors in a supposedly "free" country. 

Already, taxpayers and religious institutions are being compelled by the government to fund abortions and other morally repugnant practices. The paying for these "services" is now required by law. 

How much longer before consumption is mandated as well?

© 2012, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.