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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/40667
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The world is surrounded by an alternate realm called the spirit world. Humans existed as separate physical entities, but maintain an attachment to the spirit realm due to their connection with god. When a child is ready to be born, it must pass through the spirit world into the physical.

There are malevolent spirits in the other world that seek to corrupt the child while it is developing. Runes are placed on the mother to act as a barrier of protection to prevent this. However, runes must be reapplied periodically and are not foolproof. Therefore, it is possible for a fetus to be affected by these spirits and develop deformities (extra eyes, tentacles for arms, horns, etc). These children can be born prematurely, and risk killing the mother.

These children are not born evil, but are treated with suspicion by the world due to their "impure" taint. In the few places they are tolerated, they exist on the fringes and often become a self fulfilling prophecy. In many other places, such as this democratic nation, they are simply killed after being examined.

Killing children is a taboo, and people reading it may say "author thinks we should kill deformed kids because reasons". How can you portray this in a less negative or at least sympathetic, light to avoid this?

Original score: 7