A Mother's Ordeal: One Woman's Fight Against China's One-Child Policy

I bought this book in Hong Kong when it could not be found in the states. I was in the process of adopting from China and looking for everything I could get my hands on about China's population control, plight of Chinese mothers, etc. Mosher was banned from China for the cruelties he has exposed. This is one of the best books I have ever read. I could not put it down. It gave me an understanding of communism from an individual's perspective. This in turn gave me even more appreciation for my country and my freedom. This book is so compelling and reads so easily. I was able to understand and trace the events in China's history that have led them to where they are today developmentally. I don't believe their problems are caused by overpopulation. As the mother of a daughter adopted from China, it has given me a heart for the woman who gave birth to my daughter. I know how dangerous it was for her to hide this baby. It would have been easier for her to abort. She may have even received incentives had she done so. But she chose to give her baby a chance at life. How I wish she could know her baby is safe! Another great read on this subject is: Lost Daughters of China.

The story of Chi An's life, from her uncelebrated birth (after all, she was JUST a girl), to her early school days interrupted by the search for steel to feed Mao's plan to make a Great Leap Forward, to her simple meals of tree-leaf pancakes during the days of the Great Famine, to her heart-felt allegiance to and then disillusionment with the Cultural Revolution purge, to her enforcement of and then torture under the family-planning policies, provides a fascinating context in which to study the political heartbeat of a country little understood. This poignant account could cause you to hate China. It may make you weep with compassion, as I did. But finally, it will help you to understand. See China through Chinese eyes.

This book is a real sleeper, and will be overlooked because it is non-fiction. Indeed, it reads like a novel and should be on the required reading list for all women who have ever thought about having children or about not having them. With great opportunities for introspection, it made me, the mother of four healthy, accomplished, adult children, look back on my life, my choices, and the freedoms of our American lifestyle, and rejoice.

This is an excellent and very powerful book. The tale that unfolds is not only frightening but extremely enlightening. Before reading this book I solidly and proudly stood on the side of society that values all human life. Not only does Chi An's story deepen that conviction, but I now find that I value my right to choose life. I can't even begin to imagine the fear that the women in this story had to face and the desperate measures taken to try and save their unborn (and, sickeningly, in some cases, born) children. It also gives fascinating insight into life during the Cultural Revolution. This book was a real eye opener and a definite page-turner. I highly recommend it.

"One Mother's Ordeal" is the story of China's "one family, one child" policy and raises a lot of questions about the meaning of pregnancy, parenthood, and reproductive rights. "A Mother's Ordeal" is about a system of family planning that has nothing to do with "choice," and a woman who was not only forced to abide by the "one family, one child" policy but was forced to implement it as well. The incredible stories of abortions at all stages of pregnancy and women bound and gagged, dragged screaming and crying, to clinics where their children, their hearts and souls, are torn from them sheds a whole new light on the issue. The chapter about "The Boy Who Would Not Die" is a turning point for Chi An, and for good reason. In China, housing, food, clothing, education are guaranteed for all, as long as government policy is followed. And freedom of speech? The right to question authority? Citizens are watched and listened to every minute...solicited for their "opinions" and punished for having the wrong ones... Chi An Wei has seen the birth of her first child cause the abortion of a neighbor's, has had to live with a policy that has caused her a great deal of anguish. Now she must reconcile her own pain with the fact that implementing this policy is what she does for a living. It's a horrifying picture, and a warning to those who would for one minute become complacent about whatever it may mean to have "rights" over our own bodies. Have you ever had to do something you found morally repulsive in order to make a living? Chi An Wei's experience is a humbling one...and one I will never forget.