ABSTRACT
One means of reducing in the future the number of adults and adolescents incapable of adequate parenting, because of personal problems such as drug addiction or because of bad life circumstances such as incarceration or being trapped in an abusive relationship. This could be done by encouraging persons who now have such dysfunctions or circumstances not to procreate, and by ensuring that if such persons do conceive a child they do not inflict lasting damage on the child during pre-natal life. They can do so by creating incentives and disincentives less oppressive than the threat of criminal prosecution, attempting to influence decision-making but respecting individuals' self-determining right to choose. In fact, encouraging people who are unprepared to parent to take steps to avoid pregnancy is quite common. Giving pregnant women priority would still leave many waiting, and legislators or program administrators might oppose this policy for fear some addicts would get pregnant intentionally to jump the queue.
