This is one of my RL pet peeves. I so wish that there was a license to restrict who can become a parent. I'm SOOOOOO torn on this one! Do I let people have their freedoms, or do I do the world a favor and keep Biily Joe and Sally Mae from dropping another litter? I don't expect it to have a serious impact on child abuse, but the opportunity it too good to give up.The Issue
Increasing reports of child abuse and neglect in Belzodaine has prompted local pressure groups to call for 'parental licences'.
The Debate
1. "You need a licence to keep Panther-Sharks or drive a car," points out local current affairs commentator, Klaus Winters. "So why should just any random idiot get to be a mother or father? It just doesn't make sense! If all potential parents had to pass tests to prove they're responsible enough, I'm sure you'd find that it would help decrease the level of child abuse, and increase proper discipline in the home."
2. "This is madness!" screams Max Gutenberg. "You can't deny perfectly good people the right to bring life into this world! Panther-Sharks manage it easily enough, and you can't tell me they've got more responsibility than your average upstanding citizen of Belzodaine! The government should keep out of such matters - I've always said social workers and welfare was a drain on the budget. Yes, there will be some sad cases of neglect, but shouldn't we be giving parents the benefit of the doubt?"
3. "The answer to this problem is patently obvious," says Elizabeth Wu, your minister of Social Welfare. "The government simply needs to give more funding to the welfare department so that we can recruit more social workers to carry out regular checks on parents and judge whether or not they're doing a good job of looking after their children. It'll be expensive, but at least it's a damn sight fairer than licensing parents."
I'm going to have to think about this one for awhile.
