Why Octomom Matters
By dcmediagirl on February 10, 2009 at 9:48 AM in Current Affairs
I know there are some people out there who think that the coverage of the California octuplets has been excessive, sensationalistic and irrelevant to today’s problems. Wrong. Let me count the ways.
Nadya Suleman’s fecundity and resulting spawn could not have come at a worst time for her as far as endorsements, deals or even the typical corporate freebies lavished on multi-birth parents are concerned.
No corporation wants to give this woman a free ride while laying their own people off. And I venture to guess that if you’re sitting in a house that’s about to be foreclosed, or you’re barely able to make the mortgage payments, or you’ve lost or are about to lose your job, or if your health insurance has been yanked you’re probably not reveling in Octomom’s joy. If you’re a taxpayer in the state of California, thanks for picking up the tab for Suleman’s “obsession” with children. I’m sure you’re happy to help, what with all the spare cash you probably have lying around.
Last night I went to buy a Valentine’s Day gift at a popular shopping mall outside Washington, D.C. When I arrived at around 7 p.m., the parking lot was practically empty. The stores were deserted. People are too frightened to spend money on themselves. So now is not the time to assume that your self-indulgence will be subsidized. Those of us who are expected to pay up just aren’t in the mood.
If you’re a right-to-lifer, what do you have to say for yourself? Have you opened up your checkbook to help care for these children? Or does her single mother status turn you off? How do you square that circle?
If you’re a couple desperately seeking medical help to have a child, what to make of the doctor who implanted Suleman’s embryos, who appears to be a conman, fraud and crook, whose chief success was with one client – Suleman?
How about following the money? Why is it that Suleman had cash for IVF treatment and what appears to be extensive plastic surgery, but not to pay her mother for food or rent for the children? Why did Suleman lie about receiving public assistance? And why oh why did she continue to pump out children when half the ones she’d already had are disabled?
Will the fact that her food stamp payments totaled a whopping $490 per month finally put to rest the absurd notion that single mothers have more babies to live high on the welfare hog?
It’s no secret that there are many, many unethical, sleazy doctors in Beverly Hills, from the garden variety Dr. Feelgoods with their prescription pads at the ready to plastic surgeons who will accomodate any outrageous demand, even when the results are pretty damn scary. Is it safe to assume that given the fertility doctor’s lousy track record he implanted Suleman’s embryos in order to get more publicity for his ineffectual clinic? Is it ethical for a doctor to “just keep going” when he’s familiar with his patient’s medical history and knows that his patient is indigent and trying to raise three disabled children?
And finally, when will the media learn to stop treating multiple births as a reason to celebrate?
The bottom line is that there are now 14 children who are at the mercy of a woman who appears to be mentally imbalanced, whose sense of entitlement has cost the taxpayers plenty at a time when too many of us are feeling the sharp pinch of unemployment, bankruptcy and foreclosure.
Anyone who’s adopted a dog or cat from the local shelter can tell you that you can’t take your pet home until your home has been inspected. Are we to believe that 14 innocent children deserve any less?
UPDATE: Suleman continues to deny she’s on welfare despite evidence to the contrary, and:
She said she has no income but would go back to school and use student loans to help support her 14 children. She said she now has an “alternative source of income” that would probably run out before she returns to school.
“So I have my own way, an alternative way, but it works,” she said…
She said she has spent close to $100,000 in in vitro procedures at West Coast IVF Clinic in Beverly Hills, run by Dr. Michael Kamrava.
All the lies are making me dizzy.
(Release: November 13)
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Hopefully, the Catholic Church will be subsidizing this mini nation. This is the church’s ultimate fantasy destiny for women.
The Catholic Church doesn’t condone in vitro because most doctors would have culled back the number of viable embryos to one or two to reduce the risks to the mother and surviving children. They see as a form of abortion.
This is a job for the Mormon Church. With their extensive church welfare system and billions of dollars, surely they could convert one disenfranchised mom and fourteen kids.
Being only the fifteenth largest religion in the world, they like to have their numbers increase and this fiasco would help alot!!
Why are we throwing religion into this? This is about ONE woman and her mental state. Obviously, she loves the attention and these children give her the 15 minutes of fame. IT doesn’t help that the msm is all over this story. Why?
Satire? Witty repartee? Awareness?
The fact of the matter is that this story is important. Your public monies are going to raise this family with welfare, food stamps, public education, special education, home health care, baby your baby(ies), pre-school, medicaid, and a myriad of other social services fueled by your tax dollars.
Why not have another entity -such as an uber rich church – help pick up the slack?
Oooo good point and there have been times when I’ve thought it should be necessary to give Parental licenses like drivers licenses (HA)
but that would also be wrong (with a LOT of people)
cuz MOST people could NOT pass!! jmo
They could not pass the strict restrictions we would ALL LIKE To put on parents.
Until we realize that through out the life of a parent there are as many screw ups as there are smart moves.
Some parents get better
Some get worse
Some never get it and yet keep the baby factory running strictly due to their religion or dumb ass husband
It’s a crap shoot! Parent-HOOD!
that’s my opinion (being a parent that actually CHOSE when to become one versus being trapped into it or being told to do it or being embarrassed in to it or having it just OOPSIE happen)
all bad reasons to be a mother imo and a recipe for disasters unnumbered
DC mediagirl
YES! LET THE RIGHT-TO-LIFERS PICK UP THE TAB AND START LOVING THE OCTOPLETS WITH SOME MONETARY EFFICIENCY….
The state of California is so cash strapped now that they are just before going under. This woman has no visible means of support and no prospects for it. The hospital bills along will be astronomical. California taxpayers have to be hopping mad about this one. CPS should go in and take these children from her now. She is obviously unstable, and it isn’t going to get any better. Her own mother thinks she’s crazy. The doctor and clinic that implanted the embryos should be put out of business pronto. If a woman wants to be a single parent and has the ability to support her children then it is her business. If you cannot support children, don’t have them.
Yes, I am one Californian who is hopping mad about this. One estimate of the hospital bill for this is $2 million and counting.
The numbers just don’t add up. Was she involved in some illegal activity to come up with enough for invitro at a Rodeo Drive clinic? Something is very, very wrong with the money picture.
I agree. If you have enough to support a large family well, then it’s your life. But I didn’t have enough for more than two so that’s what I stuck with.
The woman is a sicko. I briefly saw an early picture of her with one of the six babies. No big lips and Angelina nose then. Ick.
Count me in also. I think this sick, selfish bitch should have to work 2 jobs for the next 30 years to pay back her parents and the state.
My God, anyone who can advocate this, even two parents, having 14 children needs some serious mental help-SERIOUS. As you outlined, she is not even self sufficient and already has 6 kids she obviously cannot care for. I think the state/courts should step in and tell her, that based on her financial situation and the fact she already has 6 kids, she can’t possibly be a fit parent. Stupid shit like this is why California is billions in debt. Since Hollywood is into “everything goes”, how about they go over there and pour out some dough to this mentally imbalanced woman. Another reason to take the kids. If there is a waiting list for kids to be adopted, take them at birth. I don’t think they can force her to have an abortion and she may be too far along anyway.
The right to life doesn’t include artificially creating multiple babies at the whim of a crazed woman. If she and her doctor were complicit in this ill advised trip into fantasy land then they should pay the price. Not the beautiful children who resulted in this who had no say whatsoever. I hope they are taken care of the best way possible and given to parents who want and can care for them and who allow constant contact with their brothers and sisters. I always feel kids should be with their birth families but this is a unique and tragic situation. The people of CA should not have to support this woman in any way, just the kids. They do have the right to life.
Chris,
Yes, they’re already human beings, not embroynic fetuses, so they are entitled to Life. The point is RIGHT TO LIFERS should pick up the tab because it’s their theologically twisted viewpoint that brought us this disaster-mom! So foot the bill, don’t ya and ask your church group to pitch in!
This is an outrage to be sure. I mostly blame whoever allowed this to happen. I watched this woman for a few minutes–enough to see that she has a strange mental problem. She even outright states that her children come into this world with a job–to love HER. Such kids are at high risk for abuse if they don’t “perform.”
I hope there is a silver lining in here somewhere–that eyes are opened and scrutiny will be vastly enhanced by these clinics. I hope the one that implanted her is drummed out of business.
So sad, scary and heartbreaking to think of
moreany kids in the care of that woman in her current state. Mental illness is a disease. She needs help. Those kids definitely need help.Any doctor who would implant that many embryos in a woman with six children without a psych evaluation is committing malpractice, in my opinion. The relevant phrase of the Hippocratic Oath is “Never to do deliberate harm to anyone for anyone else’s interest.” And then there is this part…”To keep the good of the patient as the highest priority.” So what justification does that doctor have for implanting embryos in a woman who can’t care for the children she already has? I would be interested to see what the California Licensing Board comes up with for an answer.
She has children to love HER? She has no consideration for the children and their possible suffering because of her neediness. Is she a narcissist or a psychopath? This is child abuse. She cannot see anything beyond her little self-centered universe and be damned with anyone and anything else. It makes one wonder if she is learning disabled and cannot comprehend what she has done.
She says her gift to the children is herself, “completely present”. That’s what I’m afraid of.
When is child services going to step in and take these children from her? Seriously! Is someone at least pursuing this in California?
I couldn’t watch the interview…I felt sad and sickened by this woman’s attitude. She is clearly mentally unstable. This may sound terrible…but I think her motivation all along was to get a brood of kids so that she could get her much-dreamed-of television show and book deal. Not to mention all of the plastic surgery she has had (with her disability insurance, no doubt).
Those children have a sociopath for a mother. I rarely condone taking children from parents – except in cases of abuse – but I believe this very unique situation demands intervention by the state of California. And posthaste.
I got the same message. She’s had a make over in anticipation of her
(crazy) mom fame.
Expanded story says she has three of the six children with special needs. At least one is autistic.
Sorry, standard. You can’t use this one for de rigueur Catholic bashing. The Catholic Church supports responsible sex, marriage, and casts an uneasy eye over the manipulation of human reproductive biology.
What we aren’t considering is how this woman is the logical outcome of “my body, my choices.” Why are we so obsessed with this woman’s fecundity – but not women getting multiple late-term abortions? Why have there been (to my count) three No Quarter columns on this woman, but none on the Florida abortion/infanticide case last week?
The whole modern philosophy has to be reconsidered. At some point, it’s not my body and just my choice. Women have at least one basic inequality built into the equation. Compassion demands that we consider both ends of the spectrum. This woman represents one end of it.
Anna, this woman in no way represents a cause celeb for pro-life or pro-choice. She is not only mentally ill, she believes everything is about her and how it makes her feel. The real problem here is the decision of the doctor and his responsibility. He knew her situation and had implanted her twins and any doctor who prescribes medication or performs a treatment contrary to the health and well being of the patient just because the patient asks is guilty of malpractice and he should be held financially responsible for them the rest of his life. As far as any case in FL, the former governor of the state and the US congress interfered with the treatment of Terri Schiavo and they paid for it since it was clear the majority of people in this country didn’t agree with their actions. If you don’t want the Catholic Church to be blamed for this behavior, why are you so aggressively defending them? The inequality you say is built in is irrelevant when the person in question is incapable of making a rational decision and this woman falls into that category.
And we have a Narcissist for a President. What is this? America learns about mental health?
In a time when excess is out, Ms. Baby Factory hopes for a deal glorifying her poor choices?
And why is her mother speaking up only now?
I think there’s a many-faceted back story which was intended for public consumption (as long as there was a hefty price-tag attached).
It’s all unconscionable, period.
I wonder..she keeps saying how much she loves children…but what happens when they grow up? What then? They’re not dolls. They won’t stay little forever.
ok what is so crazy is that she can come up with 100 thousand dollars for invtro but still gets food stamps???
Isnt here something wrong with this picture. I have a feeling that if she has that type of money for invtro she needs to pay back the governmen for her food stamps.
Well, it may be time to think about having sperm donors take some responsibility for how their sperm is used and for the children that result. Someone needs to put money into escrow – either the woman, couple, doctor, or sperm donor. I do like the idea of the Catholic and Mormon churches stepping up here to take responsibility for the fantasies they promote to unstable people.
http://www.theonion.com/content/radio_news/14_sperm_bank_workers_drown?utm_source=slate_rss_1 14 Sperm Bank Workers Drown In Tragic Spill
Will the fact that her food stamp payments totaled a whopping $490 per month finally put to rest the absurd notion that single mothers have more babies to live high on the welfare hog?”
The problem is that most women on welfare simply can’t count and have a poor sense of basic economics. Four hundred plus dollars a month for those many mouths to feed is nothing, true. But it’s found money in the sense that it’s not earned income from doing a job that someone has employed you to do.
Although raising children is a job, no one asks single mothers to do this job. They have children for their own personal reasons and expect the government to be their paternal benefactor.
The natural inclination to procreate or answer the calling of maternal nature now has to be addressed in the education of children. Basic economics should be taught in elementary school. People who understand these basic principles are less likely to be capricious when it comes to having more children than one can take care of.
This woman lives in a bubble that her parents have enabled. Not only does she not believe she isn’t getting welfare, she also doesn’t realize that her parents are providing the childcare as well along with paying the bills of shelter, utilities, etc.
I point this out because it’s this kind of social dysfunction that plagues poor people on welfare and perpetuates their behavior. Our condemnation really doesn’t penetrate this bubble, it hardens it. That’s why the key is to educate kids at the earliest most feasible age.
In the case of Suleman, I find her mental state frightening and wish an evaluation would be imposed on her. Social Services should be called into action for the sake of these kids.
I really doubt she was getting less than 500 a month in food stamps. I know a family with 3 kids that gets over 600 per month. I put a woman and 6 kids into several calculators and both were over 800.
I got the same message. She’s had a make over in anticipation of her
(crazy) mom fame.
Expanded story says she has three of the six children have special needs. At least one is autistic.
The reality is – no matter what angle it’s looked at – it’s not looking to good of an outcome for the kids.
The 3 kids w/ special needs and the 8 babies no doubt require extra care. Specialists are big bucks. She doesn’t have the means to provide that kind of care; therefore, she is dependent on the state to provide that.
There are two huge obstacles in the way of the babies having a positive developmental outcome:
1. The mother is clearly dependent on the state for care. The state, just like ins., is slow to provide that level of care.
2. The mother is also clearly out-to-lunch as far as not recognizing the harm that she has caused/will cause her 6 kids at home and the 8 preemies. She will most likely gloss over any issues or not recognize them as such because she is wearing alternate universe googles.
As has been universally suggested, it would most likely be for the best for the state to intervene on these babies’ behalf.
Meant “too” not “to” in front of “good”…
Good grief! “goggles” not “googles”…
The state mandates driver’s tests and licenses to drive but it seems anyone can have a child (or 14 of them) whether competent or not. My heart goes out to the children. The mother is definitely in need of serious emotional help. She is so painful to watch and listen to – she might have been better off getting 14 dogs as they are affectionate to feed her “addiction”. Unfortunately, this story may only get worse as it goes on. I pray some loving people out there petition to adopt some of the children and that can be facilitated.
I didn’t watch the interview beyond a few minutes. From my experience in mental health I knew where it was going and it was too painful to watch. I do think the state needs to intervene on behalf of the children. But the mother also needs to stay out of circulation because in her current state she will do everything she can to get pregnant again. She will find another sperm donor and I’m not sure how to prevent that other than long term hospitalization.
This woman makes me SICK! She is the poster mom for irresponsibility and part of what’s wrong with our country right now. The state should take her kids away from her, because she has engaged in a form of child abuse, especially for her (3) disabled children. Children with Autism do receive SSI benefits, so I would guess this is what they have. While I wouldn’t consider SSI to be welfare, AFDC definitely is.
I bet you the doctor used his sperm to implant the octobabies. OctoDad and OctoMom are sick soul mates.
Seems a good way for a minority religion to quickly gain majority.
Ocotmom only matters because people need to get their attention from all the other gloomy problems out there regarding the recession. The Duggers recieve lot’s in government funds, so do John and Kate and their 8. There’s a $800+ billion dollar help the banks bill about to be drafted so it’s easy to pick on a single mom with 14 kids. No matter how stupid this lady really is it’s still sad and it shows how much of cowards, thats right cowards americans are. And FYI this recession is of you coward’s doing, not giving life but living yours beyond your means.
this whole thing makes me so !@%^%#%@! angry! i wish things like this didn’t have to even be brought to my attention, it’s just more needless frustration with the state of the world loaded on my back. i’m sure there are plenty of people out there feeling the same !@#$ way…