A comparative view on family policies

What was China’s one‑child policy designed to do?

To discourage couples from having more than one child.

How was China’s one‑child policy enforced?

Through workplace family‑planning committees where women needed permission to try for a child, with quotas and waiting lists.

What benefits were given to couples who complied with China’s one‑child policy?

Free child healthcare, and later in life, only children received priority in education and housing.

What happened to couples who broke China’s one‑child policy?

They had to repay allowances and pay fines, pressuring women into sterilisation after their first child.

What restrictions did Communist Romania place on reproduction?

Restricted contraception and abortion.

How did Communist Romania financially pressure adults to have children?

Unmarried adults and childless couples had to pay an extra 5% income tax.

How did Communist Romania encourage marriage and childbirth?

Lowered the marriage age to 15 and made divorce more difficult.

What additional measure did Communist Romania introduce to increase births?

Set up infertility centres.

What was the main goal of Nazi family policy?

To encourage the “racially pure” and “healthy” to breed a master race.

How did the Nazis restrict reproduction?

Limited access to abortion and contraception for those considered racially desirable.

How did the Nazis try to control women’s roles?

Encouraged women to stay out of work and focus on the “three Ks”: kitchen, childcare and church.

How many disabled people were sterilised under Nazi policy?

375,000 people deemed “unfit to breed,” including those with blindness, deafness and epilepsy.

What happened to many disabled people sterilised under Nazi policy?

Many later died in concentration camps.

How do democratic societies view the family?

As a private sphere where the state does not intervene unless something goes wrong.

When do democratic governments typically intervene in family life?

In cases such as child abuse or serious welfare concerns.