Childhood no longer stood as a choice, as the various methods Ceausescu utilized to enforce his Decree-such tactics ranging from the use of a secret police force to taxation and forced gynecological exams-resulted in unwanted children destined for institutionalization. Those who did not immediately adhere to the stipulations of Ceausescu’s decree received a “childlessness tax”, (Nelson 46). To make life increasingly difficult for any opponents of the Decree, the Romanian government altered the conditions under which one could undergo an abortion by raising the minimum age to women over 45 and mothers of five or more children (Nelson 46). Should such measures fail, Ceausescu’s secret police force, the securitate, closely monitored the lives