When The Bough Breaks - S1-E17
Corrected entry: The Aldeans offer to provide the Federation with extensive scientific knowledge in exchange for children, because the Aldeans are barren. Troi, Crusher, and Riker reject this offer immediately, and the Aldenas kidnap seven children from the Enterprise. It's totally understandable that the crew of the Enterprise would be unwilling to part with their children. But are there not any human or humanoid children living as underpriveliged orphans, either in the Federation or under the awareness thereof? Surely there are many children who would benefit greatly from being raised on Aldea, even though no such children were on the Enterprise. The Dominion war and the Cardassian occupation of Bajor orphaned thousands. And surely, if given a choice, at least some of these children would choose to live in a place with new parents who would love and pamper them, thus avoiding any moral dilemmas.
Correction: That would be selling children: slavery. Giving children in exchange for scientific knowledge is the selling a person. The Federation cannot interfere in the societies of non-federation planets: The prime directive. They cannot simply take Bajoran war orphans and take them to Aldea. And even if they could, no society would exchange their orphans for the knowledge, see above reason. The Aldeans are unable to have children because their planetary cloaking device has rendered it impossible for them to have children. It sterilized them. They will no longer use the cloaking device for this reason. It would doom any child brought to their planet to the same fate. That is why they gave the kids back instead of fighting. The cloak will no longer be used: therefore, the planet's location will no longer be secret. Since it will no longer be secret, families will be able to immigrate to the planet and the Aldeans can teach them.
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