I'm all for requiring people to take a test and acquire a license before being legally allowed to have a child. There are just way too many fucked up people having kids and thus giving birth a new fucked up generation that is growing exponentially.

Then again, doesn't it strike anyone else as odd that it says they were living with her parents? Where were he parents while the child was starving to death? Shouldn't they be held responsible as well?

I know people would be up in arms about it because people are retarded. The single biggest threat to the planet right now is overpopulation, not global warming or gay marriage. Africa will never get on its feet because they can't stop crapping out kids and even the US is starting to become crowded. China recognized the problem a long time ago and implemented their one child policy that has been pretty successful for them. They manage to enforce it, so why can't we?

My idea is just requiring a license for every child that you have. Every time you plan to have a child, you must take a state mandated test about basic parenting, they do a background check to verify your income, make sure you're not a convicted felon, etc, and if you pass, you get the license. If you fail, you don't get to have a child. If you do anyway, you go to prison.

If you're already pregnant and fail the test, you'll be forced to get an abortion. That would help prevent accidental pregnancies by a large margain. If you fail the test say, 3 different times, then you get your tubes tied. I'd also like to see a maximum of three kids per couple unless they're extraordinarily rich and can prove they have enough time to have more.

I want to live in a world where crazy Octomom (who lives with her parents and whose money goes toward cosmetic surgery to look more like Angelina Jolie) was never allowed to have 6 children, let alone 8 more for a total of 14. 14 screwed up kids we have to live with now that should never have existed.

Everything else is policed and regulated, so why isn't this? Reproduction is not a basic human right in my opinion because it impacts every other member of society. There are just too many screwed up parents out there. In my system, the good parents will still be able to have kids, while the fucked up ones won't. Simples.

I know Milhouse, but I can dream. Maybe when it becomes a real problem, people won't be so blind and religious about the issue.

Blackout wrote:

OK, what about the issue of that large of a degree of control over people's lives being in the hands of a select few? That kind of power could easily be corruptible to whoever wielded it. What if you were told that you didn't qualify to legally sire children due to some arbitrary reason and were forced by the state to get sterilized? How would you feel about it then? Would you form some sort of guerrilla impregnation organization, or would you sit back and assume that the people in charge know whats best for you?

That same group of people already govern every other aspect of your life. Want to be able to drive a car? You need a license. Want to add an extention onto your garage? You need a license. Want to hunt or fish at certain times of the year? You need a license. Even when you get a job, you technically need to be allowed to work by the government.

Why is this any different? Why is the single most important thing a human can do (creating and supporting a new life) that has huge impacts on society as a whole completely off limits to run wild? Government social workers already have the power to deem certain people unfit parents after the kid is born, so why can't we do it before there's a child involved who has to endure that pain and be screwed up for the rest of his/her life?

Everyone wants to stop homelessness, hunger, and crime without realizing the best way to do that is to stop allowing fucked up people to have fucked up kids who end up on the street and in prisons.