Morality Check

[rorschach]

(First of all, let me say that I will not be surprised if there are some horrible things said in this thread, and secondly, I will try not to take certain answers personally. Thirdly, I consulted both Admin and OVERKILL before I posted this.)

Say the zombie apocalypse happened. Say you're taken care of, prepared, well-stocked with weapons, ammo, booby traps, food, water, first aid kits, and a really good shelter.

Now say you're out checking your traps or killing a zombie or just out scouting.

Then you see a pregnant woman alone with no supplies, struggling to get away from a lone zombie.

You know that taking her in means your food supply will run low a lot quicker than you had expected (among other things), but you also know that the human race is on the verge of total extinction.

What do you do?

[OVERKILL]

 I always think of what I would want someone to do for me in a situation, and I would want someone to help me out.
 First, as safely and quickly as possible I would dispatch the zombie she was struggling with. I'd make sure she was okay and able to walk and suggest we head back to the house in case more of those things show up. I'd find out if there were more survivors like her out there and take further action if necessary. My first thoughts were that she could be useful for making ammunition or fletching arrows, but on second thought  exposing an unborn baby to lead wouldn't be such a good idea. (Lead poisoning comes from braething in or ingesting tiny lead particles. Everone has lead in there system and usually the body cleanses it out very slowly. The problem comes mainly from not washing your hands after handling lead, so as long as she washed her hands after handling ammunition, she should be alright, but it's not worth the risk with her pregnant.) She could still be useful fletching arrows, applying nocks and points, sharpening broadheads and knives and other things that would be useful and would not stress her and the baby too much. She would be another mouth to feed, but with her helping out, I could spend less time making repairs and more time checking my traps and looking for fruit, berries and roots.
 We would also need to get to work preparing for the babies arrival. I was certified in first aid, but let it expire, but know the basics of delivering a baby. I would scrounge through my books to refresh my knowledge for when the day came, hopefully I will have found a nurse or doctor to bring to the fort to help. The baby would also need several supplies that are not usually stocked for emergency situations unless you have children. I would check abandoned stores or houses for diapers, wipes, cribs, blankets, baby formula. Formula wouldn't be too much of a problem, as breastfeeding is a possibility and I had a Biology Professor who was adamant that it was much better than artificial formula. I would also begin soundproofing our base as well as possible, babies make a lot of noise sometimes.
 It may seem like a lot of work, but pregnant women are far from helpless and I'm sure she could pull her share of the weight. The hardest part would be trying to deliver the baby, for me at least. Anybody you rescue is going to have certain skills or knowledge that you don't have, and I would view them as a valuable addition to the team.

[Zombie_Hunter]

Many things would affect my decision in this situation.  First of all:  Am I  alone?  I so, I could definitely afford the food if it meant having company and an extra hand around the place.  Second of all:  How pregnant is she?  I remember an English teacher of mine basically did everything normally until the last month of pregnancy.  If it was before then, she could still be of a lot of help.  Third: Is there really only one zombie?  This is highly unlikely, as zombies dont travel alone, but in hordes.  If there is only one after her, what happened to the others?  I am not going to risk my own safety for hers.  Normally I would, but during a zompocalypse, many others could b depending on me, and I DEFINITELY would not want to let any zoms follow me back home.

Realistically, I would probably end up shooting her; Odds are she is already bitten, and I wouldnt want another human to join the ranks of the zeds.  If I felt the urge to save her, I would shoot the zed, check her for bites, then take a long route home, involving obstacles zombies couldnt get over.

[rorschach]

Normally the woman has to be around three months pregnant, then her baby bump starts showing.

Zombies aren't always in hordes, especially if they're recently changed.

[†CrimsonKing†]

This is tough. I guess i would take like some kind of silent killer (ranged) and kill the zed from an upper area of the fort. Then, i would head down and check her for bites. If she is safe, get her into the fort. Now i know nothing about delivering babies because i havn't thought about it (guess i should learn the basics like Kill said). If i can't deliver the babe, i would try and get her to a doctor or something. Chances are though i would just kill her while the zed is on her. I know it sounds bad but i can't handle a baby during the apocalypse. Hate me if you want but thats just my way of saying "I want to live"

[oldnick]

Personally, I'm not going to dispatch any unbitten human except in self defense.  (marauding hordes... you know who you are)

If she's slow enough that she'd slow me down, she's probably already been bitten.  If not, then it's an extra set of hands to help out.

[CyberNinjaWalrus]

I'd definatly help her out. After that check for bites, if shes bitten, waste her, and depending on how pregnent she is shoot her in the stomach to (dont want any undead babies crawlin around) If she isnt bitten it would be standard procedure, take survivor back to camp, help out said survivor by giving them food, clothes, all that stuff.

[†CrimsonKing†]

man don't i feel dead inside. I wouldn't help the chick (well i might if i had help) and all you guys would......harsh 

[oldnick]

Not sure about everyone else on here, but I know that once I started fathering kids it changed my perspective on a lot of things.

[AK]

I've thought about similar situations to the one brought up in this thread. I am quite abit more selfless than most people I know, and while most people I know would probably try to forget the pregnant chick, I couldn't let something like that sit on my conscience. I would get her inside and then I would give up some of my own rations or share them until we raided a house for food or whatever. Because I have thought about this kind of scenario, I have decided that when storing food, just store lots. More than enough for yourself and family, and tuck some away in case stragglers come along. If you are gonna get a little army together to fight off the dead, you are gonna need to feed your troops. Might as well prep for it before hand, and hey if no one or no stragglers are to be found, you got well then enough food to last you for a long time.

[Robin Holmes]

Take her with. Check for bites, and arm her. In the long run, children are far more important, so I would put her safety above mine.

[OVERKILL]

Take her with. Check for bites, and arm her. In the long run, children are far more important, so I would put her safety above mine.

 BRAVO.

[†CrimsonKing†]

god, i feel so dead right now, its a good thing im not a zed

[Robin Holmes]

I'm one of those types that's so rightious, you'd think I was nuts. Paladin. In every sense of the word. Or at least, I try. I keep impossible standards of good, hold myself to them, and try to convince others that i've got the right idea.

[rorschach]

I think zombies would go after a pregnant woman, because no offense to them, but they're easy targets. (Even though zack go for anything with a pulse, really.)

I would not leave her behind unless there was absolutely no hope for her, i.e. there's an absolutely ridiculous number of zombies following the loner or she was bitten. And CyberNinjaWalrus' idea of shooting the stomach if she is bitten is pretty good. Undead are creepy enough, but undead children are even more creepy and if you have more of a heart than some, killing them would be difficult. You'd end up like Terri Morales from the second Resident Evil movie, just being devoured alive.

Gotta say, though: My maternal instinct is pretty much nil. Taking care of a kid would be hard enough for me in the non-zombpocalyptic world.