History Main / MandatoryMotherhood

* In DianeDuane's ''TheTaleOfFive'' series, [[EveryoneIsBi the entire human race is bisexual]] and both gay and poly marriages are common, but the Goddess requires that everyone must have at least one child at some point before they marry.

* In Margaret Atwood's ''[[TheHandmaidsTale The Handmaid's Tale]]'', the Republic of Gilead has an entire caste of women (the Handmaids) whose sole function is to breed. Abortion and birth control for any woman are outlawed and punishable by the death penalty.

*** The society is portrayed as level headed and moral, as well as pragmatic so it's probably meant to be an unrealistic idea that the issue would be ''forced''. However in reality, who knows what could happen in such a situation.

* In TheBible, mankind is ordered to "be fruitful and multiply," which has traditionally been seen as a command to have children if at all possible. The Patriarchs and Matriarchs, for example, went through a lot knowing that God's plans relied on them producing the Jewish people, as did Moses' parents in the wake of Pharaoh's decree.
** Onan was killed by God for refusing to have a child with Tamar, his dead brother's wife, as per the laws of levirate marriage. Of course, he told her he ''would'' and then performed ''coitus interruptus'' to prevent it, so he was arguably sort of an AssholeVictim.

* In ''TwelfthNight'', one argument used on Olivia.

* Lois [=McMaster=] Bujold's ''VorkosiganSaga'' has a particularly odd one. While there was always an element of MandatoryMotherhood for Vor women, it was nevertheless understood and frequently referenced that many women might not want to have children, if only because, given the levels of technology available, it was a life-threatening risk every time. With the introduction of the uterine replicator into Barrayaran society, however, the concept of a woman who doesn't want children is erased, because the culturally acceptable 'excuse' for it is no longer valid.

Maybe there's a problem in the HeirClubForMen and she doesn't want to be involved but, since she's married to the fella needing the heir, she can't readily escape it. Or she's in a society that's gone through a [[ApocalypseHow class-2 apocalypse]], which is urging every fertile woman to repopulate the species; but she has desires or concerns more important to her than the species.

* The ''{{Warrior Cats}}'' don't often touch on this but in ''Bluestar's Prophecy'', the title character is good with kits and raises her nephew after her sister's death but has no interest in having any of her own, [[spoiler: Although it doesn't work out this way in the end]]. Naturally one of the Clan elders tells her she needs to "live her own life" now that her sister's son is grown. [[SarcasmMode Because in order to live your own life, you have to have and raise children]].

* In ''{{Bumped}}'' by Megan [=McCafferty=], teenage girls are paid lots of money to be "surrogettes" after a virus makes everyone over 18 infertile. They are not allowed to keep their baby and even take medication so they will not form any attachments to the baby. Motherhood is glorified and even schools are encouraged to have as much pregnant teens as possible.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* On ''Series/{{Lost}}'', Claire Littleton, left pregnant after her boyfriend walks out on her, plans to give the baby up for adoption, but a fortune teller advises her to take flight 815, which ends up stranding her on the island, where there are no adoption agencies.[[/folder]]

* In TheBible, mankind of ordered to "be fruitful and multiply," which has traditionally been seen as a command to have children if at all possible. The Patriarchs and Matriarchs, for example, went through a lot knowing that God's plans relied on them producing the Jewish people, as did Moses' parents in the wake of Pharaoh's decree.

* In ''{{Bumped}}'' by Megan McCafferty, teenage girls are paid lots of money to be "surrogettes" after a virus makes everyone over 18 infertile. They are not allowed to keep their baby and even take medication so they will not form any attachments to the baby. Motherhood is glorified and even schools are encouraged to have as much pregnant teens as possible.

* on ''{{lost}}'', Claire Littleton, left pregnant after her boyfriend walks out on her, plans to give the baby up for adoption, but a fortune teller advises her to take flight 815, which ends up stranding her on the island, where there are no adoption agencies.[[/folder]]

* In DianeDuane's ''TheTaleOfFive'' series, [[EveryoneIsBi the entire human race is bisexual]] and both gay and poly marriages are common, but the Goddess requires that everyone must have at least one child at some point.

on ''{{lost}}'' Claire Littleton, left pregnant after her boyfriend walks out on her, plans to give the baby up for adoption, but a fortune teller advises her to take flight 815, which ends up stranding her on the island, where there are no adoption agencies.[[/folder]]

[[Folder:Live Action TV]]
on ''{{lost}}'' Claire Littleton, left pregnant after her boyfriend walks out on her, plans to give the baby up for adoption, but a fortune teller advises her to take flight 815, which ends up stranding her on the island, where there are no adoption agencies.

** King Hezekiah was struck with illness for not marrying and having kids, even though he had a good reason -- he knew prophetically that one of his descendants would be evil. The prophet Isaiah told him he was obligated to have kids anyway, since one is supposed to obey God's commands while acknowledging that He is always in control of its ultimate outcome.

* {{Zigzagged}} in S.L. Viehl's ''BladeDancer'': [[spoiler:Jory and Kol]] must MateOrDie; he wants kids, she doesn't. Jory is [[spoiler:''not'' pregnant by the end of the book, but is at very least well on her way to changing her mind]].

* Jory in S.L. Viehl's ''Blade Dancer'', due to StrangledByTheRedString. She and Kol had to MateOrDie, and he wanted kids. Although Jory wasn't pregnant yet by the end of the book, it was made pretty clear that she was at least well on her way to changing her mind on the subject.

* Jory in S.L. Viehl's ''Blade Dancer'', due to StrangledByTheRedString. You two must MateOrDie, and he wants kids. Although she wasn't pregnant yet by the end of the book, it was made pretty clear that it'd happen eventually.

Or maybe she's already pregnant with the kid she adamantly doesn't want but has had abortion forbidden her for legal or moral reasons.

* A sore point for many fans of ''WerewolfTheApocalypse'' is how werewolves are expected to marry kinfolk (humans who carry the recessive shapeshifter gene) and hopefully make werewolf babies, since lycanthropy is passed through plain old sexual reproduction in this game, regardless of whether or not either one has other plans. It's treated like ArrangedMarriage at best and flat-out rape at worst.

[[folder:WebOriginal]]
* Fiona in the ''MetamorCity'' novel ''[[http://www.metamorcity.com Making the Cut]]'', who gets forced into a breeding cell only because she's female, and it's made clear that anything other than birthing her own babies someday is not going to be acceptable to the [[PsychicPowers Psi]] Collective.
[[/folder]]

* The ''DoctorWho'' novel ''The Eyeless'' takes place on a world where 99% of the population has been wiped out. The couple of hundred remaining survivors have worked out a plan for how many children each women must have in order for the species to survive long term -- and the loss of just a few children or potential parents could be devastating. The repopulation attempt is presented as an unfair, but necessary process, as it really ''is'' the only way their race is going to stay alive. At least one of the main characters, Alsa, is understandably upset about it, and her unwillingness to be a birthing machine for the rest of her life shows.