China has long sought to control women’s bodies. Increasingly, they’re making their own choices

More women are rejecting state pressure over their reproductive choices, amid the devastating legacy of the one-child policy Ever since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, women’s bodies have been the business of the state. In the 1950s, labour for state-controlled work units...

Source: [Guardian International](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/12/china-has-long-sought-to-control-womens-bodies-increasingly-theyre-making-their-own-choices)