Jan 30 2009
Octuplet Mom Already Has Six Kids
I was surprised to see the headline this morning that mother who recently gave birth to octuplets already has six kids living at home. On a basic level I can’t even imagine the logistics of having octuplets - let alone six additional children. The MSNBC report (see video below) points to a much more complicated ethical dilemma about the propriety of giving fertility assistance to parents who already have multiple children.
Once the mother realized she was pregnant with eight more kids her only options were to selectively abort or to maintain the pregnancy. I understand the inability to selectively abort but I think the real question is regarding what happened before she became pregnant.
We don’t know much about the mom (and nothing about the father although it seems that he is not involved) but there is reason to question the rationality of undergoing In Vitro fertilization when you already have six children living at home. At the very least it may be irresponsible and at worst potentially insane.
Here is the video. I’ll be interested to see reactions to this one.
.msnbcLinks {font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 425px;} .msnbcLinks a {text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px;}
If a woman wants to have 14 children, if she’s willing to pay for the fertility treatments, and if she can support them without aid from the government, then who are we to judge? Do you want someone telling you that you can’t have children because of your lifestyle, or because of your job, or because of any other factor in your life? Do you want someone pointing their finger at you and asking how you could morally bring a child into this world when in your life is such and such and such? Yes, it’s the same thing, whether you have one child or twenty.
I am very sensitive to the point you are making. No, I don’t want anyone telling me what I can or can’t do. What I do expect, however, is that people will generally question whether or not my decision was appropriate given my circumstances. Forbidding and questioning are two different things and it might be in the best interest of those watching the situation unfold to debate some of the ethical and social concerns that arise from her choices.
Ultimately it is her choice to do what she wants but for the sake of the rest of society it doesn’t hurt to ask questions and to explore the larger issues that come from her decision.
Oh…my…lord…
This is going to be very hard to say sensitively and inoffensively…but
WTF!!!!!!!!!!
This story has really angered me on many different levels.
First of all, I have some issue with fertility treatments in general. I don’t necessarily condemn them (after all, I considered them myself), but I wish people were more open to adoption, too.
Second, there is a doctor/clinic that needs to be very closely questioned about this. The facts of the case suggest that this woman was not prepared for the possible consequences of the treatments. Was it ethically proper to clear this woman for treatments, or was it all about getting paid??
Third, I know parents of multiples out there are cringing with this story. They have to constantly fight stereotypes people have about parents with multiples, and this kind of story is the primary reason those stereotypes exist.
Fourth, there was such a media frenzy around the McCaughey septuplets…and all the free stuff they got. Free cars, free diapers, free food, free college educations, etc. Is this a reason why people chose to do fertility treatments, even though they are clearly unequipped to deal with the possible outcome?
Fifth, I worry about those little babies. They are going to have health struggles, and possibly long term birth defects. The father may be MIA and the mother is going to be grossly overwhelmed. There are already 6 other children at home. I really hope it wasn’t because someone was too selfish to understand that there are little lives at stake here.
I may have missed it. Did they say if the other 6 children were born individually, or if they are sextuplets (or some other combo of multiples that would equal 6)?
My heart breaks for that family. It also breaks for all the other mothers out there who would give almost anything for a chance at having 1 child. I’ve been there. It’s not easy for someone who has to struggle with infertility to hear about these stories. It just seems…reckless.
http://foreverfamily.today.com
While I don’t think we should judge the woman for undergoing fertility treatments, I do think we need to question the clinic involved. It is medically irresponsibly to transfer eight embryos (which is what the babies’ grandmother says happened). As someone who is a)a parent of higher order multiples and b)underwent IVF to become a parent I question why so many embryos were transferred. I transferred 3, all implanted and 1 split. Imagine the risk to the mother and her babies if any of the embryos and split.
Quadmama
http://gotquads.today.com
As an FYI the original story didn’t say if the other six kids were multiples but I did read in another article that at least four of them are not multiples - there was no information on the other two.
It’s my understanding that there is one set of twins among the other six children.
Quadmama
http://gotquads.today.com
some people will do anything for money. I would like to know how much she gets every month from gov??
I think it’s disgusting that she would do this just for money. How much doe’s she get from gov. for all of this??
Just saw this update from NBC. According to Grandma, the mother has always wanted lots of babies. All her pregnancies have been through IVF, and these embryos were “leftover.” She didn’t want to have them destroyed. It sounds like there has never been a father figure in the picture.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28974804#28974804
http://foreverfamily.today.com
This story keeps getting stranger. Apparently now “mom” is shopping out her options for TV shows and book deals. She said she implanted with all eight eggs because she wanted “just one more girl”. Her mom did say that all the sperm came from a single donor but that he is not involved in raising the kids. My favorite quote from her mother was “I wish she would have just become a kindergarten teacher.”