The New Family Improvement Solution
By John Brennan
Tomorrow's "brave new world" might not be all that the social planners and scientists say it will be if we "control our environment" by eliminating people through massive programs of birth control, by articial contraceptives and abortion on demand. This satire, a projection of the not-too-distant future of how coldly efficient people-elimination may become, is not at all out of the realm of the possible.
MRS. GOTHAM entered Dr. Josiah Nuremberg's office and released her little son's hand abruptly. The child, a two-year-old boy with dark brown hair, wandered from her side in the way that toddlers will.
"Yes, Madame?" the doctor inquired, making a steeple of his fingers. "How may I help you?"
"It's not me, Doctor," said an embarrassed Mrs. Gotham. "It's the child. I'm here because of the new law."
"Ah, yes, the new law." The physician smiled. "You are referring to the recent enactment in Albany of the Family Improvement Act, making it possible to have a retroactive abortion?"
"That's it precisely, Dr. Nuremberg." Mrs. Gotham noticed that the boy was playing with the handle of her pocketbook, snatched it away, and placed it in her lap. "I want," she made an imperious gesture, "to have him removed."
Dr. Nuremberg picked up a felt-tipped pen. "Perhaps I had better take a few notes." He poised the pen over a pad of paper. "I will need your full name, your husband's name and the number of your policy with Blue Cross-Blue Shield." When the information was recorded the surgeon leaned back in his leather chair and smiled again. "Have you given this matter due consideration?" he asked mildly.
"Of course I have," snapped Mrs. Gotham. "Here you! Get away from that wastebasket." She shouted at the child who had begun to pull papers from the basket. "See, Doctor. You can see for yourself what he is doing to me. My nerves are absolutely frazzled." Mrs. Gotham took the boy and shook him roughly. "Over in that corner, " she ordered, "and stand still."
"They really aren't people at that age, you know," the Doctor purred. "How can we consider them people when they are unable to converse with us intelligently, do any profitable work, or care and feed themselves without assistance? The latest tests establish that they do not become people for some years."
"I understand that, Doctor. I read in a recent article in LOOK magazine . . . . "
"And yet it is interesting that if we live long enough we eventually become non-people also. Our studies show that the human personality disappears the moment one becomes too old or too ill to manage one's self in society. When that happens, euthanasia is a blessing for all concerned."
"I've wondered about that, " Mrs. Gotham quizzed. "I know the law concerning euthanasia was passed a few months ago but I don't know too much about it. My husband's grandmother, of all things, is living with us and . . . . "
"Say no more, my dear. Bring her in for a checkup one of these days and leave matters in my hands. The procedure is quite simple. As simple, for example as the matter at hand."
"Of course, Doctor. Absolutely. When do you think you can help me with the . . . child?"
Dr. Nuremberg thumbed through his appointment book. "I'll have to check. Some physicians, you know, do this sort of thing right in the office, but I prefer to use the hospital. The setting is more professional and there is no trouble at all with disposal."
"I understand."
"You realize, of course, that you will need a letter from your psychiatrist and a confirming opinion from another doctor before we can go ahead?"
"I already have the letter from my psychiatrist," Mrs. Gotham fumbled in her purse and extracted an envelope which she handed to the smiling physician behind the desk. "Dr. Fraude is a very efficient phychiatrist. I saw him for less than fifteen minutes, yet even in that short space of time he was able to diagnose that my mental health was in severe danger because of the existence of thi. . . this child."
Dr. Nuremberg read through the letter carefully. "Oh, I know Fred. A very good man. He's been terribly concerned with our over-expanding population, and sees the new laws as a chance not only to help the individual but to relieve our overcrowded earth. A great humanitarian. I see here he has written that continued existence of this child will cause both you and your husband untold psychic damage. That is something we must avoid at all costs. Do you have a letter from another physician?"
"No, but I'm certain I can get one if necessary," Mrs. Gotham grumbled.
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ABORTIONS IN THE U. S. A. (This figure is based on those major hospitals and clinics in major metropolitan areas who voluntarily chose to report their numbers. The figure is published in the 1976 Report of the CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL, Washington, D. C.) 1975—272 abortions per 1,000 births 1976—312 abortions per 1,000 births ABORTIONS IN HOUSTON, TEXAS 1976—2,000 per month (Based on figures voluntarily given by major hospitals and clinics who chose to participate in a survey conducted by The Houston Chronicle.) 1978—3,000 abortions per month estimated A CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE OF TOTAL ABORTIONS SINCE THE 1973 SUPREME COURT RULING MAKING ABORTIONS LEGAL IS FIVE MILLION UNBORN BABIES HAVE BEEN KILLED |
"Don't worry a thing about it," smiled Dr. Nuremberg. "Dr. Ghouly golfs with me on Wednesday afternoon. He'll write us a letter, never you mind. It won't even be necessary for you to see him. Of course he'll send you a nominal bill, but you won't mind that?"
"Not at all, Doctor."
"Now you must tell me something about the way you feel."
"Must I?"
"Well," a half-smile flickered about Dr. Nuremberg's lips. "Just to cover the law, my dear."
Mrs. Gotham stared at the wall for a moment. "I unfortunately became pregnant one month before the original abortion law was passed. You have no idea of the distress my husband and I felt when my condition became known to us. We have always been the sort of people who take proper precautions and we were simply astounded. We considered suing but were dissuaded by our attorney."
"Go on."
"Naturally, we were following the passage of the abortion legislation with the greatest interest. We signed petitions, wired our representatives, and contributed to advertisements in the important papers. As soon as the law was passed we immediately went to our doctor and asked him to arrange an abortion for us."
"And what happened?"
"It turned out that our family physician, a man whom we had trusted over the years, was some sort of religious fanatic. He lectured us on what he called the sanctity of human life and actually refused to help."
"Shocking," muttered Dr. Nuremberg, "but fortunately there are fewer of those fellows around all the time."
"Doctor," asked Mrs. Gotham piteously, "why are men like that still allowed to practice? He just didn't care about my feelings at all. It was as if he wanted to play God!"
"Well, my dear, we still have some physicians who try to impose their own sense of values upon others. A vanishing breed, thank whatever."
"We began to look about for a new doctor," continued Mrs, Gotham, "but all the physicians we approached had so many patients that the waiting time for an abortion was eleven months. So we wound up saddled with this, this child. I've had a headache ever since, and my clothes don't fit me properly." She began to cry. The little boy rushed over to her, and tried to embrace her, but she brushed him away harshly.
"Now, now, my dear. Everything is going to be all right. It is cases precisely like yours that have prompted our lawmakers to permit retroactive abortion. It is now perfectly legal to dispose of any child up to five years if the mother's mental or physical health is jeopardized. And, I might add, there is a considerable group of us, including both doctors and interested citizens, who are working day and night to have the age limit moved up to ten. There are many parents, you know, who never realize they didn't want a child until that child gets to school and begins to do poorly, or develops hostilities or becomes an embarrassment for any number of other good reasons"
Mrs. Gotham dried her eyes. "It won't hurt him or frighten him, will it?"
"How typically middle class, if you pardon my saying so! Does a sensible woman having an abortion worry about whether the fetus experiences pain or terror?" He studied his memoranda book again. "Let me see. Bring the boy to the hospital at ten o'clock a week from Monday. We'll take care of every thing from there. Your hospital insurance should cover most of the charges."
"Oh, thank you, Doctor. How can I ever thank. . ."
"And don't forget about your husband's grandmother. Bring her down to the office about four the same day. Then, you my dear, can go back to being the liberated young woman you were before being so unfairly burdened. You see, Mrs. Gotham, science now has a solution for every medical problem. A final solution."
"The New Family Improvement Solution" by John Brennan first appeared in the December 23, 1970 issue of The Review Of The News (Belmont, Massachusetts 02178) and is reproduced here by permission of the publisher.
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