[thm76]

My father's former boss (in Germany) has fired women when they became pregnant and just paid the settlement when they sued. As soon as the employer becomes aware that somebody is pregnant they can't fire them and need to guarantee the position or a similar one for when they return from maternity leave.

I understand where you're coming from, but my guess would be that the situation is much more similar between the US, Europe and other countries than you think.