Vice President Joe Biden, often known for putting his foot in his mouth, is taking heat from at least one presidential candidate after condoning China's One-Child Policy.

In a statement given to the New York Times, Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney called China's policy gruesome and barbaric.

Vice President Biden's acquiescence to such a policy should shock the conscience of every American, Romney said in his statement. Instead of condoning the policy, Vice President Biden should have condemned it in the strongest possible terms. There can be no defense of a government that engages in compulsory sterilization and forced abortions in the name of population control.

Biden made the comments at Sichuan University in China during a question-and-answer session focused on U.S. debt and entitlement reform.

Your policy has been one which I fully understand - I'm not second-guessing - of one child per family, Mr. Biden said, according to the New York Times. The result being that you're in a position where one wage earner will be taking care of four retired people. Not sustainable.

According to the U.S. state department, the law, which was enacted in 1978, only allows married couples to give birth to one child. If a couple has an unapproved child, they must pay a social compensation fee, which can often total years of annual earnings for many Chinese families.

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