Abortion is one of the most controversial topics in the history of the world, and one that sparked the war that changed so many people’s lives. Even after the Life Laws were put in place, people still tried to find ways to get rid of the little “troubles” that seemed to occur. Of course, illegal abortions can be deadly, so many people avoid them, but illegal clinics still exist. The Life Laws were put in place by the Father Church, the church that saved us after the War of Life vs. Choice, and are as follows;
1. No woman shall terminate a pregnancy under any circumstances.
2. No woman shall engage in sexual activity before marriage. Any woman caught doing so is open to any punishment including death.
3. All babies born and are unwanted will be given to the Sterile Camps for care until age 15, at which time their fate will be determined.
4. The Sterile Camps are to be run by women who have been found unable to have children. Anyone harboring a woman who cannot have children is punishable by death.
5. At age 15, children who are able to work or be married will be so, and those who are unable to work or be married will be killed or left to work at the Sterile Camp.
6. No birth control of any kind is to be used.
7. Sex is a holy act, and should be treated as one.
8. Men may have no fewer than 3 wives, but no more than 8. There is no exception.
9. Men who are found to have less than 3 wives before they turn 45 are considered to be crooked and will be sent to work with the women ate the Sterile Camp.
10. These rules are final, unchangeable, and have no exceptions.

That is the world we live in, a world that is run by the polygamist church. Since the War of Life vs. Choice, many people have been put to death. There isn’t a soul who remembers the Liberated Times, but we read about them in History class at school. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, your grandparents will tell you stories that their grandparents told them.

Another difference in the times is that North America is divided into four states, which are divided into statuses. Camp State, where the Sterile Camps are spread out and lived in, fifteen statuses in all, one for every age. Up State, which is divided based on the polygamist colony you live in, and is for the rich families and their servants. Lower State, which is where the servants are from, and where the working districts are, along with most of the illegal abortion clinics are. Finally, there is the Father State, where the Father Church is. We only go there for important holy days, or when a woman from our colony is put up for marriage.

I suppose that is enough about the way our little world is set up. Maybe you would like to know more about me. My papa is a rich polygamist, and he has 4 wives. His first wife is not spoken to or of so we consider Lisa his first, and she gave him 3 of my 12 siblings. His second wife, Laura, is Lisa’s little sister, and gave him 5 of my siblings. Then there is Belinda, who has had 2 and is expecting a third, and then my mother, Rosemary. I’m her only child, and she would like to keep it that way. The only siblings I know are Laura’s five children, Jeremy, Grady, Gregg, Ruth and Sara. The rest, excepting of course the unborn child, are either married or banished. Bess, my father’s first wife’s only child, was found sterile and we haven’t seen her in years.

My father’s name is Lyndon Briar, and he is a very handsome man. He is tall and slender, with salt and pepper hair and blue eyes. His nose is slightly upturned and he always looks like he knows what he’s talking about, even when he doesn’t. My name is Elizabeth Briar, and I wouldn’t know it before I started recounting my adventures in my diary, but my life was about to take an unexpected turn, and I was in for one big adventure.