A Day Of To Boost Russion Population

[Crocus]

Lovers in a Russian province are getting a day off work to have sex to boost the country's birth rate. Should they have a baby on Russian day which is the 12th of June, prizes such as cars, money, televisions, fridges, etc. can be won! What are your opinion on this? Don't you think that babies will get born just to receive the prizes and they perhaps then may suffer neglect or abuse afterwards? What if relationships don't last and it's a single parent situation and the baby suffers? Don't you think it's playing with lives?

[jazzactivist]

It seems a very novel way to increase the population, crocus, but I agree with you that by introducing prizes there is a chance that some people will have a baby just to get the prize. It sounds a bit eerily nationalistic in that it is a form of social engineering being passed off as fun. Scotland has a zero population growth rate too and the government often comments on it. However, maybe allowing more people from other countries to settle would be a better way of boosting the population than such an enclosed way.

I agree with a day off work to have sex, though, but I can imagine that it might work better for society as a whole if it was meant to be a day to improve relationships. Then if a baby doesn't result at least the couple had a day to focus on their own relationship.

[Crocus]

Well if one's going to take the day off just to try and fall pregnant, it might not work!
I've also been thinking about what the Russian government's policy will be should a mentally or otherwise disabled baby be born? Will they be willing to compensate the parents? A lot of questions come to mind when one really start to think about this 'boosting programme'. I'm also concerned that poorer couples may go for this, not winning a prize, can't look after the baby properly, and probably resent the child.