Last November, a woman in the city of Gaoyou in Jiangsu Province gave birth to twins after taking the pills. Unfortunately, one died while the other suffered from congenital malformation.
Nevertheless, this has not been enough to stop the desire for more than one child. The online business of such illegal drugs has been booming in recent years.
China introduced its one-child policy in 1980 because of the pressure to feed a growing population. In towns and cities, the policy has been strictly enforced but there are exemptions. Families from ethnic minorities are allowed more than one child and some rural families are also permitted to try for a son if their first child is a daughter.
Couples face heavy fines if they have a second child. As a temporary measure, the one-child policy did help to slow population growth, but has also brought about negative effects to society.
In a traditional country where multiple children are considered a blessing, this policy has been challenged especially in recent years as the economy takes off and feeding the population is no longer a problem for the country.
In rural areas, couples are willing to pay the heavy fines in order to have a second or even a third child. As long as they can afford it, they are happy to "pay for children." In urban areas, this gets more difficult because employees in state-run companies can get fired for having a second child, not to mention a third one.
Instead, couples are turning to the "multiple baby drugs" despite the potential risks that may haunt both the mother and babies.
