So Much Fail, So Little Time
So it seems that the mother of the octuplets has six other children. That’s right: SIX (she’s a single mom who lives with her parents, by the way….with her SIX other kids. It’s hard enough to raise one kid alone, let alone 14). My question is this: At what point did she, or her family, think it was a good idea to undergo fertility treatments? I’m reminded of the line from Juno: “They’re just greedy little bitches”.
You have SIX children. You really don’t need another, let alone EIGHT more. I understand how difficult it would be to face the decision of selective reduction. And that speaks volumes about the doctor who implanted the embryos in the first place. Eight at a time is excessive by any stretch, and certainly so for a woman who already has SIX children (did I mention she has 6 kids?).
And that brings up the next issue: It’s going to cost $2.5 million to provide these 8 kids with just the basics. That doesn’t include things like education or Christmas presents or specialized medical care which some of those kids will most likely need, either, just food and diapers and clothing. And, oh yeah, she still has those other six kids to worry about, too. Who’s going to finance that? And more importantly, how is it going to affect the quality of life for those kids?
I honestly don’t believe she’s choosing not to speak to the media because she’s trying to protect her privacy; I think she’s rightfully afraid of the public backlash and ensuing ethics discussion. I’m not bashing her right to have a family; God knows there’s nothing I want more than to be a mother. And this isn’t sour grapes, either. We’ve chosen a path that’s right for us. But I really want to understand what her doctors were thinking when they implanted 8 embryos into a uterus that had already birthed six other babies. A woman who lives with her parents. A woman who plans on bringing those babies home to a three-bedroom house which will seem pretty small with 17 people living in it (and I’m pretty sure that violates some zoning laws).
Vagina: It’s Not a Clown Car.
January 30th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
I thought she had a husband, who was heading back to Iraq soon…?
January 30th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Yea, I totally get wanting more kids. Heck, I wouldn’t mind having one more – but I USE LOGIC re: consider the known costs vs. the known income!!!
I’d rather have one and know I can take care of him (or her) than be selfish and purposely have more not knowing how well I can take care of them. So, I’m supposing that her entire family will be on some sort of government assistance – certainly WIC and Medicaid. So, because she was selfish and needed 8 more kids on top of the 6 she already had, we the people will be paying for her children. I’m not blaming the kids, and I’m happy that there will be some assistance for them, but the mother/father – come on! And for personal reasons – the mom and dad better not ever go out to eat, or have a cell phone, or satellite tv, or internet, or cable tv – unless it’s all given to them free of charge.
UUGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In my christian beliefs, it is wrong, but I do have such a hard spot on my heart for people purposely having children when they KNOW they can’t pay to feed them without assistance. There are plenty of legitimate families who find themselves in need and I am SO TOTALLY OKAY WITH THAT. But the ones who can barely feed the ones they have to go and purposely have more (or purposely don’t try to avoid having more) just get my blood boiling!
January 30th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
p.s. I commented. 😛
January 30th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
From someone who has been in the trenches, there is no way that a doctor implanted eight embryos back (most stop at two, and depending on your age if you’re advanced maternal age, three). It would just not happen. Especially not with a young healthy woman. Most doctors nowadays would cancel a cycle if you had that many mature follicles, so you wouldn’t even get far enough to do an IUI (and if she did do an IUI, that doctor should have his license revoked). What most likely happened is that she did the fertility treatments on her own. Either doing insemination on her own, or by having sex after doing injectables.
I’m sure she hoped it was a ticket to a free ride for things. Maybe her own show. Who knows, really, but it pisses me off. She put herself and those children in danger. She brought children into the world that are going to most likely suffer from health problems for the rest of their lives and to me that’s unforgivable. Why would you be that selfish?
I know that selective reduction is a hard choice. I’m not discounting that at all, but why even put yourself in danger in the first place?
January 30th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
14 kids? Hell… bet she wouldn’t notice if I borrowed one. 🙂
January 30th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
@Kevin “HI! I need me a toddler! They got more than they can handle”.
January 31st, 2009 at 8:27 am
CNN quotes her mother as saying they were implanted, which means there’s a doctor out there in LA LA LAND that needs their card revoked. Such a terribly selfish decision that these kids will have to live with.
January 31st, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Her mom also said she’s obsessed with having kids. Does she know these are real human beings who will grow up and not dolls? This just make no sense to me at all.