The Thirty Years War

China | China's one-child policy was supposed to be ending about now, but the nation shows no signs of easing its vicious campaign against women, its children, and ultimately itself | Jamie Dean

Stephen Shaver/AFP/Getty Images

BOSTON—On a grassy bank near the Wanquan River in the Haidian District of China, a passerby made a startling discovery on a Sunday morning in January: an hours-old, abandoned baby boy. A hospital tag still tied to the infant's foot bore his mother's name, according to The Global Times. A doctor said the baby was born with deformities that morning, and a witness told police a man dumped the still-breathing child outside hours later. Authorities arrested the suspect. The baby boy died.

In a country where government officials allow most couples to bear only one child, the scenario is painfully common. Many Chinese couples prefer a healthy son. With one opportunity to achieve that result, babies who don't fit the bill sometimes face abortion or abandonment. Most are girls, but even disabled boys like the infant in Haidian don't always escape death or discarding.