It was a much more sophisticated approach than the ancient way but had its roots there.  The druid would only go on the physical appearance of the new-born child before deciding whether to strangle or bless it.  Physical appearance betrayed physical disability – cleft palates, crooked limbs, hunched backs, splayed feet, mishapen heads. 

It was this very provenance, though, which lent the process its initial legitimacy; that, and then the impetus of the Chairman’s pronouncement that “Liberalism is Dead”.

In any event science had improved the accuracy a thousand-fold.  Besides physical disability we could now detect mental disability and criminality.  More latterly the concept of supply and demand for labour and skills in a planned society meant that needs surplus to those required to fill society’s various roles could be managed out.

The most obvious and humane difference was that these characteristics could be determined long before birth, in the first few cells after conception.  This enabled assessment to be made before the foetus was formed.

And equally, the process predicated on a woman’s right to choose. Obviously, not the bearer; this would have been to have introduced too emotional and subjective a variable into decision making.

The Women’s Pro-Life Forums had been established locally in each of the Health and Planning Trusts to handle assessments in their areas.

Society functioned very efficiently thanks to the example of the druids among the Old Folk, the wisdom of the Chairman and the contribution of today’s WPLFs.