PHOTOS: Number of orphans in China nears one million
April 2, 2014
A young Chinese orphaned girl is bathed by a worker at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. China's orphanages and foster homes used to be filled with healthy girls, reflecting the country's one-child policy and its preference for sons. Now the vast majority of orphans are sick or disabled. China says it has 576,000 orphans in its child welfare system though outside groups put the number at closer to a million. The parents who abandon them either cannot afford treatment or feel an inability to cope with raising a child who has special needs. In many cases an unwanted baby is never registered so the parents can skirt the one-child policy if they try for another. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482018739 )
Young orphaned Chinese children eat a meal during feeding at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482002293 )
A Chinese care worker carries a young orphaned girl at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482002273 )
Young orphaned Chinese children are seen in cribs at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482002275 )
A Chinese care worker holds children on her lap as she cares for them at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482010637 )
A young orphaned Chinese girl stands in a crib at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482002281 )
A young orphaned Chinese girl cries as she sits at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482002283 )
A young orphaned Chinese girl lays on a changing table at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482002295 )
Young orphaned Chinese children drink milk fro bottles at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482002297 )
A young Chinese cries as she waits for feeding at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482010643 )
A young Chinese orphaned boy crawls wearing corrective leg braces on the floor of a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482002299 )
A Chinese care worker holds orphaned children at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482010621 )
A young orphaned Chinese boy prevents another from taking some of his food as they eat a meal during feeding at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482010623 )
Young Chinese orphaned children eat during a feeding at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482010625 )
A young orphaned Chinese girl sits in a crib at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482010627 )
A photo of a young Chinese orphaned boy hangs on the wall at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482002289 )
Young orphaned Chinese children eat a meal during feeding at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482010629 )
A young Chinese orphaned boy sits in the lap of a care worker at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) ( 482010633 )
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