Vietnam did away with its long-standing two-child policy earlier this month in an effort to increase its birthrate, but that may not be enough to encourage childbearing among an increasingly westernized population still suffering under communism.

According to The Associated Press, on June 3,

The National Assembly passed amendments scrapping rules that limit families to having one or two children, state media Vietnam News Agency reported….

The rules were usually stricter for Communist Party members, who could miss out on promotions or bonuses if they had a third child.

The policy was first enacted in communist North Vietnam during the 1960s. It was then extended to the entire country, by then reunified under communist rule, in 1988. It was allegedly intended to conserve resources, shortages of which are an inevitable consequence of Marxism, or, alternatively, to stem the tide of “overpopulation.”

As with all central plans, it had unforeseen consequences. Vietnam’s birthrate had already fallen from 6.4 births per woman in 1963 to 3.7 in 1987. After the two-child policy was enacted the following year, the birthrate plummeted to 2.11 births per woman in 2021, the rate needed just to maintain the existing population. By last year, it had dropped to just 1.91 births per woman, a record low.

With only 23 percent of the population under 15, Vietnam is facing some severe demographic troubles in the coming decades. AP reported:

Vietnam’s “golden population” period — when working age people outnumber those who depend on them — began in 2007 and is expected to last until 2039. The number of people who can work is likely to peak in 2042 and, by 2054, the population may start shrinking. All of this could make it harder to grow the economy, since there will be fewer workers while the cost of supporting the needs of the elderly increases.

Another unforeseen consequence of the two-child policy is the current ratio of male to female births: 111.8 to 100. As in China, which pursued a similar policy until recently, families preferred to have sons, so girls were frequently aborted.

With 6.4 percent of all pregnancies ending in abortion, Vietnam has the world’s highest abortion rate. While sex-selective abortions are illegal and doctors are forbidden to tell parents the sex of their gestating child, the government claims doctors are using code words to get the point across just the same.

And what is the government’s proposed solution to this? Not banning abortion, one of the Left’s favorite practices, but tripling the fine for having a sex-selective abortion.

Vietnam’s birthrate is at its lowest in urban areas. In Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s largest city, last year’s fertility rate was a mere 1.39 children per woman. Meanwhile, over-60s made up almost 12 percent of the population.

Again, the government’s solution is to pile on more interventions. In this case it is handouts — taken, of course, from the pockets of the very people who are supposed to be grateful for the crumbs they get. AP wrote that, in addition to paying women who have two children before age 35 a whopping $120 — less than a third of a single month’s child-rearing costs — Ho Chih Minh City

also offers some of the most generous family benefits in the region, including six months of fully paid maternity leave and free healthcare for children under 6. Tuition in government schools is free until the age of 15 and, starting in September it’ll be free till the end of high school.

Will dropping the two-child policy and giving away a few goodies be enough to send Vietnam’s birthrate soaring? It certainly hasn’t worked in China.

Besides, one can hardly expect a change of policy to undo decades of indoctrination and threats overnight. According to The Washington Post:

When Vietnam’s policy was launched nationwide, it encouraged late marriage, delaying childbearing until after turning 22 and spacing first and second births by three to five years.

The Vietnamese are not suddenly going to start getting married at 18 and having six kids by the time they’re 25 just because the government says it’s okay.

Indeed, mainstream press reports suggest that it could take a long time for people’s marriage and childbearing habits to change — if they ever do.

The New York Times, for instance, reported:

In Facebook comments responding to the Vietnam Ministry of Health’s official post announcing the policy change, many people scorned the idea of large families for all the usual reasons, including the high cost of living in cities and the lack of affordable child care.

One woman wrote that she couldn’t afford to raise two kids, so “why have more and suffer?”

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan, 35, a shop owner in Hanoi with one child — a young daughter — said that she welcomed the policy change but insisted it would have little impact on her family planning decisions.

On top of that, young Vietnamese are increasingly adopting the self-centered attitudes of their Western peers. Nguyen Thi Kim Chi, an 18-year-old university student, told Agence France-Presse:

My plan is to get married and have children once I have a stable career and financial security. I intend to have one or two kids because I want to balance work, childcare, and also have time to take care of myself.

At least she hasn’t given up on having kids altogether to “save the planet.”