So here's the thing, I did most of my RB reading about 10 years ago, and for reasons that seemed good at the time, pretty much stopped reading fiction since around then.

I remember a story... it was a dystopic future in which abortion had been extended out to 10 or 12 years of age, and the protagonist is a father with degrees in mathematics and philosophy. I remember vans used to collect the children to be aborted... and that's about it.

Anyone?

Not Bradbury. I wouldn't put it past Henry Slesar or Harlan Ellison. Certainly a way to get rid of kids who aren't "turning out" rather than casting them off "sight unseen." Sounds like a fantasy for some sicko parents!

Oh no, it was a *very* dark parody... the protagonist got himself taken away in the van and showed the inherent stupidity of setting an arbitrary age for abortion...

Sounds interesting. I'd like to read it if you guys figure out who it's by.

Periodically, when stories haven't been solved in a certain amount of time, I post them here:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=rec.arts.sf.written&btnG=Search&meta=

and here:
http://forums.abebooks.com/abesleuthcom

If you don't want to wait, you can post them there yourself, but be sure to use a very specific header, not just "Help Finding a Story," or people won't answer your query, and they will be right in not doing so.

yeah that doesnt sound like bradbury

Solved. It's "The Pre-Persons" By Phillip K. Dick. It can be found in The Little Black Box - The Collected Works of Phillip K. Dick, volume 5.

Thanks to all who searched. I don't have a clue why I thought it was RB.

Because anyone who can't remember the author of a fantasy or futuristic-type story, usually a darkly grim one, blames it on Bradbury. Look at all the other inquiries on this board.

Thanks for telling us about the solution. A lot of posters don't bother to say whether their query was solved or what it was if so.

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
Because anyone who can't remember the author of a fantasy or futuristic-type story, usually a darkly grim one, blames it on Bradbury. Look at all the other inquiries on this board.

No, it genuinely has a Bradbury feel to it, and it's very anti-abortion in its own dark way, and because I have read a lot more Bradbury than P. K. Dick in my time...

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
Because anyone who can't remember the author of a fantasy or futuristic-type story, usually a darkly grim one, blames it on Bradbury. Look at all the other inquiries on this board.

I nearly forgot to, but I really hate when you're following a thread and then it suddenly stops without reaching a conclusion.

By the way, a good book to read regarding this is _The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Svejk_ by Jaroslav Hasek, but I won't tell you any more than that (:

Svejk is one of the funniest books ever written, but, alas, it is replete with Slavic humour...Ya'll must first learn Czech or Russian or Polish before you attempt to read it.
Cheers, Translator