In Lois Lowry's The Giver, Birthmothers become pregnant through artificial insemination, a highly controlled method employed by the community to manage reproduction.
The Role of Birthmothers in the Community
Within the structured society depicted in The Giver, individuals are assigned specific roles or "Assignments" by the Elders based on their perceived aptitudes and the community's needs. Becoming a Birthmother is one such Assignment, specifically designated for young women deemed capable of bearing children. Their primary function is to contribute to the community's population by carrying and delivering "newchildren." This role is temporary, typically lasting for three years, during which time a Birthmother bears three children. After completing this Assignment, they move on to other tasks, usually as Laborers.
The Process of Conception
For Birthmothers to conceive, the community's stringent rules surrounding personal impulses are temporarily relaxed for them. Individuals in this society are regularly given daily pills to suppress "stirrings"—the awakening of emotions and desires, including sexual ones—and to prevent spontaneous pregnancies. However, when a young woman is assigned the role of a Birthmother, she stops taking these pills.
Pregnancy is then achieved not through natural means with a partner, but explicitly through artificial insemination. This method bypasses traditional conception and the need for biological "birthfathers." The narratives within The Giver do not discuss the concept or role of birthfathers, reinforcing the highly controlled, impersonal, and scientific approach to procreation within this society.
Controlled Reproduction and Social Structure
This system of reproduction highlights the community's overarching goal of achieving "Sameness" and its rigid control over all aspects of life, including the most fundamental biological processes. By utilizing artificial insemination and carefully managing the Birthmother Assignment, the Elders ensure:
- Population Management: The exact number of newchildren born each year can be precisely regulated to maintain a stable and controlled population size.
- Genetic Control: It allows the community to control the genetic pool from which newchildren are created, presumably to ensure desirable traits and prevent anomalies, though the specifics are not detailed.
- Absence of Traditional Family Units: Procreation is entirely separated from the concept of romantic relationships or traditional family structures. Newchildren are nurtured collectively in the Nurturing Center and later assigned to "family units" consisting of two adults and one boy and one girl, who are not biologically related to the children.
- Emotional Detachment: The process removes any emotional or personal connection from procreation, aligning with the community's suppression of strong feelings and emphasis on logical, ordered living.