This is the second of that pair, looking at nations who have endorsed a pro-life stance, and asking them what happens to the unwanted generation. Other one here: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=466224
For the purposes of declaring bias, I'm someone who believes that women should have the right to choose termination of pregnancy, but who also believes that the current law in most jurisdictions is too lax, and that there should be a more restrictive gestation threshold after which abortion becomes illegal, and more effort to discourage termination / support continued pregnancy. It's a middle ground stance that has the potential to upset both the pro-life and pro-choice camps, but is one that I've carefully reached over time and consideration. I present this information not for the purposes of having a debate here in GI (as said debate doesn't belong in this forum) but in order to make authorial bias clear from the outset, and to state an intent to present this and the other issue in such a way to avoid passing judgement on the dilemma, and instead leave the decision up to the player of the nation.
By necessity, some of the text here is on the dark side, and I've strived to balance sensitivity here with the need to make an issue entertain. As a result, it's a little less joke-heavy than most of my issues, but it still takes satirical swipes at everybody evenly. Comments on that are welcome.
TITLE:
Take Good Care of My Baby
VALIDITY:
as a consequence to 136.2 or 136.3
DESCRIPTION:
The nation has an affirmed strong pro-life stance, with abortions illegal and the sanctity of unborn life held to be inviolable. As a result, many unwanted pregnancies have been carried to term, with a not-insignificant number of new mothers immediately giving up their children for adoption.
OPTION 1
"I'm sorry that I can't be there for the baby, but look, I'm not even an adult myself, and I'm just not ready to be a mum," apologises @@randomfemalename@@, a fourteen-year-old girl who had refused to even hold her son on the day he was born. "I mean, I was thirteen when I got pregnant. You can't say that I made a proper consenting choice to have a baby! This is your law, forcing me to carry him for nine months, now you can carry him on. Just pay for more foster carers, or get more people to adopt, or whatever, I don't care. I don't need that baby in my life, so he's your problem now."
OUTCOME:
an unwanted generation of children is growing up inside government-run Care Villages
OPTION 2
"For sure, we need to look after abandoned babies, but what babies really need is their parents," lectures Welfare Officer @@randomname@@, thrusting a photo of the newborn at the mother in an accusing way. "We need to invest in antenatal and postnatal classes to teach that parenthood is a joy, and perhaps offering tax incentives to nuclear families that stay together, and maybe charge a mandatory upkeep fee to parents who abandon their children to social care. A child needs family structure, and we should be encouraging this as much as possible."
OUTCOME:
teen mums are advised that it would be selfish not to give up on school
OPTION 3
"Right, though I think allowing welfare to prop up failing families is part of the problem," adds childless conservative @@randomname@@. "The state should have no role in what happens to unwanted children. If there's no alternative but to raise a kid themselves, then new parents will step up to the plate and get it done. If they can't manage, their extended families will step in. It's tough love, but at the end of it, you've got kids raised by their families, the way that nature intended."
OUTCOME:
foundling babies often never make it off the doorsteps they are abandoned on
