> This isn't the Soviet Union, nobody's going to give you a medal for that. I don't want a medal. That's why I think it's ridiculous that some countries mandat

> This isn't the Soviet Union, nobody's going to give you a medal for that. I don't want a medal. That's why I think it's ridiculous that some countries mandate private companies pay me money to do it. > This is questionable in the era of global warming. Both society as a whole and maternity leave as a policy rely on very few people having a lot of children. Sure, but it lets us be leeches on the system, which is something most welfare states should seek to minimize. One way to minimize this is by not offering this benefit. Another way to minimize it is to adopt programs encouraging people to make certain reproductive decisions. In the interest of minimal coercion, I'd think the former was better.