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Grandma to 8+6 Mom: Enough already

By dcmediagirl on February 4, 2009 at 12:29 PM in Abortion, Women, Women and Children

I think it’s safe to say that many readers of this blog hold pro-choice views. What a woman decides to do with the contents of her uterus should be a private matter between her and her doctor. But one of the most important aspects of being pro-choice is the expectation that the woman is making an INFORMED choice — key word INFORMED. Whether you choose to carry a baby to term or abort, make sure you’re prepared for either outcome.

And as for trying to control the activity of the uterus, God forbid women ever have to face forced abortion, forced sterilization or forced childbirth.

But when a woman appears to take leave of her senses, uses her uterus as an ATM and hires damage control PR agents to pimp out her (many) children for top dollar, well, let’s just say the public has a right to be upset, particularly if said public may end up footing the bill for a mother who doesn’t appear to have thought through the consequences of her actions.

And so we focus on the fecund Nadya Suleman, octomom +6, whose “love of children” led her to consult a fertility doctor who either did not know or didn’t care that she already had six children at home, lives in a cramped house with her bankrupt parents and has no obvious means of supporting her gigantic brood. It’s unclear how she paid for these embryo implantations, which as many hearbroken would-be parents who can’t conceive know cost a king’s ransom. It’s also not clear whether she told the doctor who performed the treatments she already had six children at home, one of whom is a special needs child. But the biggest mystery of all: Which fertility clinic did she consult? More specifically, who is the doctor who callously provided these services?

There are so many repulsive elements to this story it’s hard to know where to start. Her parents may be complaining now, but who enabled her behavior all these years as she had baby after baby after baby? She wants a job as TV “child care specialist”? What, pray tell, is her expertise in this area — cramming 6 young children, 8 infants and three adults into a three bedroom house? Who paid for her fertility treatments? Who is paying for her hospitalization, the team of 40+ medical personnel who assisted in the delivery and the care of the preemies, who will probably need to stay in the hospital for weeks? And what future will these helpless children have? Why did she continue to have children despite the sperm donor’s request that she cease and desist?

It’s fair to say that the Octomom’s popularity numbers are probably in Blagojevich territory. No diaper company has come forward to shower largesse on her. No one has handed her the keys to a spacious, multimillion dollar house. No $2 million for an interview – at least not yet.

This blessed event couldn’t have come at a worst time for Octomom. The economy is in the dumper. People are losing their jobs – and their health insurance. Those who are still employed and have coverage are watching premiums and deductibles skyrocket as benefits get cut. So excuse us for not breaking out the champagne as we contemplate having to subsidize a woman’s obsession with birthing babies she and her family can’t afford to raise.

Oh, and if your insurance company is Kaiser, my condolences.

But there is a silver lining. The cavalcade of hypocrisy displayed by the media is big fun. Notice how the octuplets were cause for celebration until the news surfaced that they had 6 brothers and sisters waiting for them at home — at which point the story ceased to be one of bounty and blessings and morphed into a debate on fertility ethics. So let’s get this straight. Implanting 8 embryos in a young, healthy woman is ok UNLESS there are other kids waiting at home? Sorry media, you lost me. And conservatives don’t know what to think. Abortion is unspeakable, but so is birthing fatherless babies. So the time is ripe to call bullshit on all the wingers who are foaming at the mouth.

In the meantime, I wish the kids well, but I hope they’re not turned into a circus act by their irresponsible and deluded mother.

  • Doc99

    I’d love to talk to the Reproductive Endocrinologists aka Fertility Docs involved with this case. What were they thinking? Medical Board investigation in ten … nine … eight …

    • KmX

      It is possible that the doctor implanted 2 embyros. But a split must have oocured resulting in 8. Nadya knew she was carrying 7 embyros and was told she should consider aborting 5. She refused to abort her embryos. it wasn’t until the doctors at Kaiser Permanente delivered the babies that they realize she had 8.

      All Nadya wanted was another girl. She was not expecting 8 more children. I think we should be very careful how quick we are to Judge her.

      The doctor has no control over how many embyros wil split into 2. If he did indeed implanted only 2 embyros, Why should he need discipline?

      • http://firefox AnnieCollier

        That is not the version I heard. All of her children have been implanted. She knew that she was having multiple births because she had to take bed rest early on. Any physician who would implant more embryo’s in a woman with 6 previous ones should lose his license.

        Someone on TV earlier tried to compare this welfare mother with Angelina Jolie. Bradangelina? They can afford the children they have and the money they take for pictures goes to charity. And, btw, I’m not a fan.

        • C.S.

          And they have only had two pregnancies, they have adopted children already born like the McCains adopted the child given to them by Mother Theresa.

          And I, too, am wondering where all this money came from to pay the bills because artificial insemination isn’t cheap and most of us can’t even afford basic health care any more.

      • minnie

        the doctor implanted 6 embryos and two split. doctor should be fired and mother given an insanity check.

  • dcmediagirl

    I can’t help but notice that the doctor responsible for implating the eight embryos hasn’t come forward to boast about this medical miracle.

  • Winston

    Lets pray that Angelina Jolie doesn’t find out about this.

    • Winston

      On second thought, maybe she could adopt half a dozen of em. They need serious medical attention. Then we can have the mother’s tubes tied.

      • dcmediagirl

        According to the octuplets’ grandmother, the mother resorted to IVF because her tubes are blocked. She also said that the fertility clinic has run out of her daughter’s embryos, so apparently her baby-making run has come to an end. What the grandmother didn’t bother to elaborate on how they plan on supporting the babies (forget whether or not they tried to talk their daughter out of obsessively giving birth – obviously that ship has sailed). And I don’t want to hear ANYONE come up with the trite observation that “God will provide”. Spare us. Unless some sucker media outlet caves and writes out a big fat check, it looks like we – ALL of us – will be the ones providing.

        • andrew191

          The whole lot of them will be the subject of a reality T.V. show, the producers of the show will train all of the little rug rats to play musical instruments, they’ll form a rock band called “Crowded Womb”, they’ll become fabulously wealthy, take lots of drugs, and all die before the age of twenty. It happens all the time!

        • Rob G in Chicago

          If they (the Suleman family) are Iraqis admitted to the U.S. in refugee status, then it’s a good bet that this is all paid by the taxpayers, as refugees have legal access to many taxpayer funded medical benefits that are not otherwise legally available to non-U.S. citizens.

          • andrew191

            They’re Iraqis and she was impregnated during the Bush administration. Why has nobody here besides me come to the obvious conclusion that this is ALL GEORGE BUSH’S FAULT!! AND CHENEY IS THE UNKNOWN SPERM DONOR!!

    • mimi

      But Angelina is rich. She can support 14 kids.

      Just sayin…..

  • Seattle Moss

    I’m just heartbroken for these kids!

    I would never bring a child into this world if I couldn’t provide the same upbringing that I enjoyed.

  • Linda C.

    No, implanting 8 embryos into any woman no matter how many children she has at home is not good medical practice. The doctor needs to have his medical license revoked.

    These babies are not out of the woods yet and just because they are breathing on their own does not mean everything will go well. Having worked in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for 4 years back in the 1980′s, these babies still have many hurdles to go through.

    This was an irresponsible act on the part of the fertility doctor and the woman.

    • dcmediagirl

      The doctor should have his license revoked, plain and simple, then be forced to support those kids. It appears no one else can afford to.

      Just horrible. Shame on all the adults who played a part in this fiasco.

      • socalannie

        Hear hear. This selfish, irresponsible woman makes me sick. Just what society needs…another lazy egomaniac to support. I think the Dr or clinic should lose its license & the lazy woman should have to work. I have sympathy for the kids, they didn’t ask for this, but the mother & grandparents sound like they’re demented. I’m glad she hasn’t been able to cash in on this.

  • http://deleted Buzz Latte LaRue

    Say hello to Special Education and No Child Left Behind. The astronomical cost of publicly educating the eight little miracles – which will start before age three – will fund a small country before long.

    If any are developmentally challenged for life, then there goes more tax dollars, donations, insurance monies, public assistance, social security, medicaid, etc.

    Reality bites X 8

    Maybe mom should start thinking about getting a job. SNARK

  • Neverland

    I know I’m gonna be crusified as an awful racist but I know quite a few refugee women who have pushed out over 13 kids and collect quite a nice welfare by doing so. Is that a better option?

  • Kathy in CA

    I don’t get the 8 embryos either. I have three children – all done via IVF. The Dr. was very carefull to explain they don’t implant more than 3 at a time. We did 2 separate implantations, and we got one single and 2 years later a set of twins. There is much more to this story than we are being told.

  • Tuppence411

    I am glad to read so many have narrowed in on the root of this tragedy: an unethical fertility clinic that enabled this whacky woman. The doctor needs to be disciplined at a minimum and revoking his/her license would be justice.

    Just because we can do something scientifically, doesn’t mean we should do it ethically. Throw money into the mix, and the ethics get even murkier!

    Bioethics have fallen way behind our technology. As a society, we need to address that deficiency. Money is driving the train- whether its IVP, transplants, stem cells, cloning, or even decisions on life support and medical directives.

    • Linda C.

      Doing it scientifically doesn’t even fly. The risk that was undertaken to implant 8 embryos into a woman was insane. The oath says “do no harm”. It could have killed her. The fact she was willing to risk that leaving her six already born children essentially orphans is mystifying.

  • Helen

    Though it sounds like the doctor and the mom are both irresponsible I’m waiting for the whole story. I no longer trust the media about anything – and that includes NPR and PBS. I don’t think the woman or her family should benefit financially, but why should the kids at home and in the hospital be denied support – supplies and food. Much hypocrisy out there.

  • foxx

    The population crisis on this planet is so severe,it is time to limit the number of children people can have. It may in fact already be too late.

    • heather

      Uck. That gives me the creeps. We are not those people that make these kinds of proclamations. Are we? Also, you may want to look at the birth rates of all of the developed nations – the U.S., for example, has a total fertility rate of 2.1 children/woman. Spain is at 1.3 children/woman, Russia is at 1.4/woman with a death rate higher than their birth rate. Many of the European countries have similar statistics.

      I have been interested in how population, demographics, and immigration intersect. It’s particularly interesting to me to study why countries need immigration. What was interesting to me was that low birth rate, combined with programs such as socialized health care, programs for the elderly, welfare, etc. create a little revenue challenge for the state. Picture the nation as a pyramid with those of highest need (and therefore greater tax burden, and often lower tax paying) at the top of the pyramid. At the bottom of the pyramid, you need constantly maturing citizens to collect taxes from. When that doesn’t happen, they use immigration to fulfill the need.

      In countries like say, Denmark, for example, the government instituted some pretty liberal immigration policies some years back. As a result, they have many, many immigrants, and now are finding that some these people, much to their chagrin, do not wish to become part of the Danish culture, and now exist in such numbers that they represent a voting bloc. I have recently read of some disturbing patterns emerging there and in other countries in Europe, that I, for one, hope not to see repeated here.

      You may also look to Japan, for what is happening there as a result of their low birth rate. They are actually trying to get employees to go home earlier from work so that they can make babies. Russia has resorted to sort of sex holidays where workers are encouraged to take the day off and go have sex. They also recently tried a moratorium on abortion for a week in order to increase the birth rate — they are that desperate.

      At any rate, any time I hear people talking about taking free choices like your comment seemed to, it sends shivers up my spine.

      • Neverland

        Yup, I come from a country of 5 million people where politicians are planning to take in 100.000 immigrants just to get tax euros. However, the unemployment figures among immigrants is already high (for example somalians with 90%) so I’m less than confident about this plan. Certain groups value big families at the expense of education and working.

        Also, I’ve worked with refugees as a volunteer and it’s a complete jungle. Europe is going to face a lot of problems because some groups simply do not want to integrate in the culture they’ve moved into, they just want a piece of their own. There’ll be many many Kosovos to come, we can be sure of that.

      • Snickers

        Well Heather, I suggest you read Plan B by Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute. Plan B is the one that should be put into effect since our Plan A (the one we’re currently using) is not working. And over population is a huge factor already. We are already having resource wars in different places. And since so many countries have already pumped out various fossil aquafirs (which don’t replenish by the way – once they’re gone, they’re gone) we’re going to be having a water crisis all over – worse than what’s happening now. If we’re a responsible species then we need to look at our irresponsible actions like overpopulation and how it’s impacting this planet and the other species who are literally dying because of us. I’m with Foxx, we can no longer have as many children as we want.

        • heather

          So the fact that the US is merely working at what amounts to replacement rate, you believe we should go to what number? I’ll have a baby and the next door neighbor will admire mine? This is not what our nation was founded on.

          And what are you suggesting as your method for enforcement of the new rules? Sterilization? Abortion? Birth control pills in the water?

          If we have overpopulation in this country, wouldn’t the immigration policy that is being suggested, of making several million immigrants citizens, just make us come off as an even larger consumer? Will we get credit, when the rest of the world says that we use too many resources, for the people we have taken in from other countries?

          And, have you noticed, that all of the nations that have complained about our overconsumption are now wondering what they’re going to do since our “over consumption” has been reduced and their economy is affected?

  • boonies

    involuntary sterilization….period . And thats just the doctor!
    But not to worry because under single payer nirvana No ONE will have to pay for any of this…I cant wait!

  • Karma

    To add to the story. Grandpa is an Iraqi contractor and might have to go back to Iraq to make money.

    How horrible would it be if Grandpa is killed while trying to give all of these babies a better chance?

    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5618449.ece

    “The mother, who described the newborn babies as “so tiny and beautiful”, admitted that being able to bring up 14 children – the others are aged seven, six, five, three and two – would be difficult. She added that her daughter’s father was going back to Iraq, where he is believed to work as a contractor, to help support the extended family.”

    • Karma

      Oops I guess there is a revision on his occupation in the next thread.

      The Iraqi contractor was the last I had heard along with comments about not needing to worry about money. Both with the treatments and the care.

  • CG

    http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-mew-octuplets4-2009feb04,0,4899190.story Mother of octuplets’ previous claims come to light

  • http://wiskeytangofoxtrotoscar.blogspot.com/ James (San Diego)

    You know this is going to come up again when the nation debates health care reform.

  • http://wiskeytangofoxtrotoscar.blogspot.com/ James (San Diego)

    The whole affair is huge mess that will of course all end up both in tears and in the courts.

    I see a family court appearance for “super mom” and grandma too. Don’t know if the city of Whittier or the County of Los Angeles will have to perform the dirty deed, maybe they will flip a coin. With this little drama splashed all across page one of the local and national news can Child Protective Services be that far behind? The local authorities are probably dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s to make sure the inevitable imposition of state care will be as above board as possible.

    So the short answer to the question posed by dcmediagirl is rather easy. It is the lucky tax-payers of California that will eventually get stuck with the bill. The children will most likely end up in foster care or group homes. The state can not have 14 children crammed into a three bedroom house, not in view of the national media at least.

    How Governor Terminator will find the funds to support this brood when the Golden State is bankrupt is another question. Plus he or more properly his administration is going to have to find out how the medical safeguards were overridden. Look for Sacramento to fire-up the printing presses and create even more regulations and laws.

    Also look for the medical field to do a top-to-bottom review of policies and procedures regarding IVF. Look for regulatory entities to crack down on enforcement and oversight. And yes look for Glenn Beck to have a field day with this story. It is a daily double for him and the anti-immigrant crowd not only is the female a foreigner she is a Arab. Glenn must feel that he has died and gone to heaven.

  • cathnealon

    Some wealthy person somewhere will take pity on those 8 new babies and the 6 children at home and give her a huge house and supplies, just wait. Too bad children can’t have a say what family thy’re born into because this woman seems very, very unstable and it’s not the children’s fault. And NO, we should never limit the size of families in the U.S for God’s sake this isn’t China–yet.