Sometimes it takes a story like this, a story that makes you shake your head in disgust, to crystallize how wrong something has gone.
Turns out, the newest mother of octuplets in California, Angela Suleman, already has SIX children. According to this story from the AP, several are under the age of seven. The family hasn’t said much, but it appears Ms. Suleman could also be single mother. CNN is reporting that her husband is in Iraq. Suleman’s father says she had the multiple embryos implanted last year.
Something is obviously not right here. Fertility treatments are supposed to help those families who are unable to have children. Mothers who have their hands full raising six little ones should not be getting litters of embryos implanted in them. The doctors have washed their hands of any accountability here:
“Who am I to say that six is the limit?” said Dr. Jeffrey Steinberg, medical director of Fertility Institutes, which has clinics in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York City. “There are people who like to have big families.”
Dr. James Grifo, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the NYU School of Medicine, added: “I don’t think it’s our job to tell them how many babies they’re allowed to have. I am not a policeman for reproduction in the United States. My role is to educate patients.”
No, docs, it is not your job to be a policeman for reproduction, but who is looking out for the fragile, premature babies — the ones who could die or be left with life-long health problems?
This is the height of selfishness and abdication of parental responsibility. The doctor who implanted a woman with six young children with all those embryos should be charged for all the medical care the tax payers will foot in this case. Instead of showering this woman with free diapers and formula, social services should keep a close eye on the health and welfare of a these 14 children.
Expect to see many more freakshows like this and others as doctors and women without a conscience race to push the envelope. Who will be the first to have a dozen teeny babies? Who will be the first 90-year-old to give birth? Have we become completely immune to how unnatural these stories are?
This is medical technology gone bad, very bad.
Previous Comments
Aisha covered education and breaking news for nearly ten years before joining the Lifestyle staff where she writes a "Dirty Laundry" parenting column. She is the home and family editor and wastes too much time on Facebook. Join the conversation on Twitter @AishaS. 
I think that when you allready have 6 kids a fertility clinic should not emplant any embryos. Especially not 6 of them. If I had 6 kids and was living with my parents I would not want another kid now if I accidently got pregnant from my own stupidity it would be a different story. I think she was jjust feeling really depressed and thought if she had another baby it would make it all better. When you are depressed some people think of things that might make them feel better and sometimes a baby does that. I think it was a call for help. I think this woman should give the new babys to some familys that can not have babys. She would feel like she actually done something really goo for some other familys. I know that if it was me I would find a couple familys and help them make a family. I would make it to where I would be able to know all about the babys and their development. That is just my opinion.
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if the kids cant survive on their own that would be a natural end to them
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Please see this link for more info. on this story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28948599/
There are actually many articles out there that have more information on what is up. Shame on you for going by what is said by a columnst in the STL Post for all your info. Do a little research.
For the record, I think this woman is crazy, should be monitored and perhaps any assistance she receives should be paid directly to any entities that she needs. I don’t know that she is responsible enough to manage a household. BTW, I have one daughter, she was planned, we can afford her, and she is my greatest joy. I would deny no one their right to legally obtain or have a child, but really, 14? 18?
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Brei,
You are right about going outside US for treatment. This is a trend we are seeing with many elective procedures. Many do it because of the lower expense as this would not be covered by health insurance.
And, I guess if you are trying to cut costs, you may want to just make one trip to said country and make sure it takes by having them do 8+ embryos.
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Something I haven’t seen anyone comment on and that everyone is mistakenly assuming is that she had the IVF done in the US. The doctors at the hospital who delivered the babies said that she came to them already pregnant. And as much as everyone here wants to think that the US has the corner on fertility advancements, other countries have this ability.
It’s sad that her “obsession” of children outweighed any real concern and love for the children that she already have. To have 14 children, 12 under the age of 5 isn’t fair to any of those children or her. I don’t care how much you want children, you can’t be everything to everyone and do it successfully. Just pray that her family continue to support her as those children grow as they will need real support, love and unselfish giving that their mother doesn’t seem to be capable of.
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I stand by my comment on Munchausen by Proxy after reading this from the story Aisha linked to in her blog post:
However, the children’s grandmother, Angela Suleman, told The Associated Press her daughter resorted to in vitro fertilization because “her fallopian tubes are plugged up” and she had trouble conceiving.
She said her daughter, who is unmarried, conceived all her children that way and has been obsessed with having children since she was a teenager.
Fourteen grandchildren later, Angela Suleman expects her daughter is finished with fertility treatment.
“It’s over now,” she said. “It has to be. It can’t go on any longer. She’s got six children and no husband. I was brought up the traditional way. I firmly believe in marriage. But she didn’t want to get married. So she got the in vitro.”
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Addressing several points already made:
1. I, too, feel like this woman is a “collector” or has Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome. Either way, you have to wonder what is going on psychologically with such a person.
2. For those that say their experience with fertility doctors is that they will not plant more than two, that is probably for “most” doctors. We all have seen some celebrities and their multiple plastic surgeries that border on dangerous. Also, what about the doctors who do the breast enhancements for some porn stars/strippers to completely unnatural (and unhealthy for the back) sizes? There is always someone out there willing to put aside ethics in the name of a dollar.
3. BTW, I heard on The View the other day–she does plan to breast feed. Right!
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Great job, there, editors, choosing Rita from South County to quote on the home page: “So, a low-income woman who can’t afford to live on her own saddles her parents with even more babies that she can’t afford to feed. Her parents, enablers that they are, will carry the burden until they drop dead in exhaustion.” To paraphrase a favorite old SNL character, “Rita, you ignorant south countian.” How is that you know the mother is “low income”?? Are you her employer? And just what qualifies as “low income”, as if you are somehow to judge that, anyway? And who said she’s saddling her parents with these children? Or that they will, as her “enablers”, “carry the burden until they drop from exhaustion”?? Or that she “can’t afford to feed” those kids on her own? Damn, woman, your legs must look like an Olympic triathlete with all the jumping (to conclusions) you so clearly demonstrate you do. For all you know that chick won a lottery and can buy and sell you ten times over, so you might just want to shut your piehole until you have some facts. Or maybe not, since the PD seems to think your comments are so attention-worthy.
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Mindy, Re-read my post. Nowhere did I write that any woman has a God-given right to reproduce. As a woman who is physically unable to bear a child, I understand that God does not grant that as a “right” to every woman. I simply parroted the pro-choice mantra that “reproductive rights” are “between a woman, her doctor and her God”. IF that is the case, as I wrote earlier, then all you liberals ought to be CHEERING this woman instead of vilifying her, since she clearly is simply exercising her “reproductive rights”. Medical intervention is usually necessary in prenatal care, delivery and post-partum care. It’s certainly (supposed to be) necessary to kill an unborn baby. So whether medical intervention is a “God-given right” or not is someone else’s issue, not mine.
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Caroline,
Thank you! Yes, we ALL use resources, and we should ALL be paying into the system, and sometimes it’s just gonna come out uneven. I, myself, was unable to have children and married very late in life. Too late to adopt. So here I am on my own again and no children to look after me in my old age. But I have worked all my life and paid into Social Security, so I expect to get a little bit back in a couple of years when I need it. Should I get more because I have no children to rely on? No. Should I get less because I have no children paying in when I’m taking out? Again, no. All my adult life I’ve taken care of myself, and not had to depend on charity outside of the occasional help of a family member in a hard time. So I have been blessed in that sense. But some people are not so blessed and they need government help now and then. I do not begrudge a person who truly needs. That is what it’s there for. So I agree with you, Caroline, that the taxpayer issue is not the way to look at this. I wish the babies well and pray they grow up strong and healthy and most of all, loved. Seems like there is not enough love in this world sometimes, and there sure isn’t very much on this blog, that’s for sure.
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Just Wondering – PLEASE explain to me how repeated medical intervention equates to her \”God-given reproductive rights?\” I\’m one of those whiny liberals, who, as I posted much earlier in the day, fully respect this woman\’s choice NOT to selectively reduce the pregnancy, even though it would have been safer. Once the embryos were implanted, I understand her belief that letting any of them go would have been wrong. Even though I don\’t agree, I understand and respect her beliefs.
But how, exactly, is using medical intervention repeatedly to get pregnant a \”Right?\” She is NOT married, she does NOT have a partner – she used a sperm donor for all of her pregnancies, according to at least two news stories I\’ve read. Do you REALLY, deep in your heart, believe that is a God-given right, to take anonymous sperm and use medical technology to get pregnant over and over again? I\’m asking this seriously. Because I really don\’t get that.
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Isn’t abortion clearly a woman exercising her “REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS”.
Just wondering.
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Caroline, I have to agree with you – and stand corrected on the possible stretches I made. I was picturing what 8 additional kids would do in my kids’ school, which is not public and which has low student-teacher ratios – so 8 additional kids in one grade would drastically upset the balance. Perhaps that is not the case with in large public schools, though – and you are right in that eventually, hopefully, they will themselves become productive members of society and produce for, rather than drain from, the economy.
And Stir, I would only “play the taxpayer card” in response to those who would say I have no right to voice a judgmental opinion on this.
As for whether or not this woman had IVF or took Clomid or some similar fertility drug, all of the news stories I’ve read specify that she had IVF. They are quoting her mother, though, so perhaps she is incorrect, or not being truthful. Who knows. This whole thing is hinky on so many levels – something is just not making sense.
I firmly believe there are additional pieces to this story that will come out later . . .
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She already has 6 children. I bet there are 8 children within a stones throw that could be adopted or fostered or supported in so many other ways.
Just an awful situation. What is wrong with our society?
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Questions NOT answered by any so-called “journalist” so far:
1) Is the (possible) husband the father of these children? It takes two, even in a petri dish.
2) Did this mother ask for public assistance – monetary or otherwise?
3) Is the family actually receiving any public assistance, monetary or otherwise?
4) Or are some publicity-hungry product manufacturers just jumping in for some free press (which is smart business) by giving this family some baby products that will obviously be useful?
AND last, but certainly not least…
5) Why are the physicians involved in this case supposed to be held accountable for the futures of the babies involved? Why is the medical community supposed to deny this woman her REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE?
You two-faced, whining, double-standard liberals are finally showing your true colors: The only acceptable “choice” is the choice to KILL babies. If “reproductive choice” is a matter between a woman and her physician and her God, then butt out, Aisha. Clearly this woman is just exercising her “REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS”.
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Sounds like a “collector” to me. Like the crazy cat collectors on animal planet. If she can support them; and I mean really support them there is not a problem but …
If she ends up on aid or these babies end up in danger the doctors should be held accountable.
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Unfortunately, doctors’ words were taken out of context, and once one news agency sends it out like that, the others will catch on.
The current scientific “belief” is that six (at once!) is a number a woman can carry (some, of course, cannot). When there are several babies sharing a womb, doctors usually suggest reduction (call it what you want). That is what the dr Steinberg’s and dr Grifo’s comments referred to – that supposed maximum number of babies in a single pregnancy.
Irresponsibility of this mother is sickening. Still, not even close to being as sickening as people playing “taxpayer” card for every freakin’ issue. Are you really that self-centered?
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I am a fiscal conservative, social moderate, and strong believer in personal responsibility. The mother in this story strikes me as having made a lot of irresponsible decisions. I’m not thrilled to be subsidizing the health bills for any of this or any government assistance she may get by being unable to work. However, do any of us know for a fact that she does not have the resources available to handle this?
I think the arguments about public education and college financial aid are quite a stretch. Would you rather these children not be educated? 8 extra kids in the same grade in an average public school might mean 1 more kid per classroom. Unless they are in a tiny town they will not need an additional teacher and/or aide at every grade level as someone claimed. Nor will 8 kids in an entire state deplete the financial aid pool to disastrous levels in 18 years.
I would hope that we are all committed to educating every child capable of learning so that they do become productive adults. Speaking of which, those who claim that these 8 children will be drains on society for the rest of their lives ignore the fact that they will only be children for so long, after which they will hopefully use their educations to work and pay taxes.
For those who wish to financially punish families with more than 2 kids, what should we do for adults who are childless by choice? Should we deny them any government funded resources (social security if it still exists, medicare, access to subsidized public transportation, access to city or county rec centers) if they haven’t produced offspring to continue pay in into the public coffers? At some point we all use resources and at some point we all pay for resources.
If you’re going to argue her decisions, do it on a stronger platform. She took a careless risk that could have killed her, leaving 6 children motherless. She knowingly increased the risk of birth defects and disabilities to her unborn children. She is raising more children than even two dedicated adults can truly spend quality time with. She’s straining our health system currently and risked straining it long term. And that’s the extent of what we know. Everything is else is a guess or an exaggeration.
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Angela, think rationally, rather than emotionally.
We as a society have an obligation to all children, even this woman’s, even though it’s obvious she must have emotional or mental problems to take any kind of fertility treatment when she already has children.
But a child born with a disability? How do you equate what I said to denying care and support for children born with challenges? That has nothing to do with my condemnation of the _mother_. Or other parents who have an excessive number of children. A child does not ask to be born. A child with challenges did not choose to be so challenged.
But, I think we as a society should stop rewarding people who have too many children. For instance, if you have more than two children, you should not get any more tax breaks. Over three, you should start losing the tax breaks, and over four, start paying more. People say it’s their decision to have lots of kids, but they still demand that society help them pay for it. I say no, not anymore.
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i wish i could be more enthusiastic about the birth of these octuplets, but i’m not. of course i’m glad they’re all alive and healthy (at least for now), but i can’t help but feeling like their mother did an increadibly insane/selfish thing. getting pregnant and having a baby you can’t support by accident is one thing–it sucks, but it happens. but having eight viable embryos implanted when you already have six children at home? that’s just selfish and cruel, if you ask me.
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On the contrary, for those who say it’s not our business, it really is our business as taxpayers who could be footing the bill for 8 more children.
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Absolutely unbelieveable. I’m sorry, but all of this is just so wrong on so many levels. All of her children will suffer to some degree – there is absolutely no doubt. Even if this woman loves all of her children with every fiber of her being you can’t give all of them the attention they need and deserve. Very large families were necessary back in the day to help on the farm – today, it’s just a drain on society and resources and adds to an already out of control population.
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Becky,
Great theory on what may have occurred here. Of course, isn’t it possible that she had the twins using the injectibles and then went to the same doctor and got pregnant on injectibles again? That doctor didn’t have a problem giving fertility treatment with four little ones already at home. Maybe they didn’t have a problem when there were already six at home, either.
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Becky,
I think you’re probably dead-on right about this. The more I think about it, the more likely that scenario sounds.
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When the Bible (and/or Torah) was written it does contain language to encourage having as many babies as possible. During this period in history, the population was not very big and the only way a society could grow and conquor was to have a large population. So you see why the people who wrote the bible (sorry, God wrote the bible) wanted people to believe that God says “multiply”. However, in this day and age we have PLENTY of people. Not to mention, plenty of stupid people…who breed more genetically inferior stupid people (apparently, sometimes eight at a time). You know that guy that drives too slow in the fast lane…yea, we already have plenty of him…stop making more!!!!!
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“Who am I to say that six is the limit?” Well, since Dr. Steinberg is already playing God, I would suggest that he should.
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I have previously undergone years of fertility treatments so I am familiar with much of how this all works. I really doubt that this pregnancy was the result of IVF. In my IVF, the doctor would only put back in 2 embryos. This is common practice—I don’t think there are any reputable fertility specialists that would put back 8+ embryos in this woman–and I did see a few doctors over the years and the vast majority are very reputable and ethical and not in the business of helping women have litters. My suspicion is that this octuplet mom took injectible fertility drugs herself—perhaps without any professional monitoring at all. You give yourself these injections–although they are prescription only–because you usually pay out of pocket for them(insurance doesn’t typically pay)you could feasibly get a larger supply than would be necessary for one cycle. I suspect this woman may have used these drugs to get pregnant with the twins she already had, was familiar with the dosage needed to ovulate 2 or 3 eggs and amped up the dosage and admministration herself to create a kind of super ovulation, resulting in many eggs released and fertilized. Sadly, I think this woman may have had a little knowledge of how fertility drugs worked and set out to have a litter. I really don’t believe she had IVF as I just don’t think anyone would possibly put back that many embryos!
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Wow, my husband lost his job, I work, we have 2 children under age 5 and I can’t get any help because we still make too much money!!! Guess I should have 6 or 8 more kids to get some help.
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My thoughts would be, who cares about how many children she has.The sad thing is that it will be the children that will suffer in the long run. Why would you bring them into this mess of a world ? I also agree on ,not supplying them with free anything!!!If you think this is a blessing maybe so,not for me to judge.If you plan on having that many children then you should make sure you can afford them!I would think there would be a over crowding law there? Sounds to me like she needs mental help!
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So Shelley if I understand you correctly society should not have do deal with extraordinary burdens. Well then Shelley lets take all the burdens away shall we. Any child born with any disability or health problem lets decide that their life can not continue. And individual over the age of 50 that has health problems that are simiply old age, bad backs, knee replacements, heart attacks. I mean the insurance costs for those individuals must be crazy. So now we have the population down to basically those 10-50 in good health. Lets not forget those overweight, diabetes, cancer, MS, the list is endless. When do we stop. Who would be left?
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So how much govt aid is this gal on..food stamp, free health care… maybe thats the reason she did it..for the $$$$$.. Too bad you dont have to prove you can support and care for kids before you are allowed to have them… Thats one thing the anti-abortion people never think about, all they care about is that the kids get born they dont care what happens to them afterward ….Saw I special on kids that live on the street and this 19 yr old homeless gal and her homeless boyfriend decided they wanted a kid.. THATS RIGHT THEY HAVE NO HOME, NO INCOME BUT THEY WANT A KID…they go to the local clinic and they give to pills to help her get pregnant because she has some sort of disorder that makes getting preganat hard for her. THEY WERE HELPING HER HAVE A KID AND THEY KNOW SHE HAD NO HOME!!!! Pretty darn sad!!!!
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How do you all know that her 6 other children were not, too, the result of fertility treatment? And how do you know that she had in vitro and not simply a hormone treatment? You harldy know the facts because the woman wanted privacy, to protect her from mean-spirited people like you. I will say, though, that the doctors that delivered the babies are looking for recognition. No one outside of the family and hospital staff would know about the births had they not held the press conference.
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God had nothing to do with this, and as for the mind set we should not judge,in what world do you live in? We put alot of thought in the planning of our family after 3 wonderfull but time consuming and costly children my husband and I,(by the way who fatherd these children?)felt it was in our families best intrest to provide the best we could for the 3 children we created together(who fatherd these children?)and that adding another child wasn’t something we could afford so we made the difficult but adult decision to stop at 3. Why shouldn’t I pass judgement on someone who has clearly put little thought into her actions.
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To Rahman Horowitz, Mmmshell, and Angela, who all sound the same…society will have to accept an extraordinary burden with these children. Society has to accept an extraordinary burden with all large families.
The more kids you have, the more resources you consume, the more children to compete with other children for attention in school, jobs, college grants, and so on.
When our world is already dying from the weight of too many people, actions taken such as those by this mother will always face condemnation in the future. Oh, there will be suckers who will say, “God’s blessing” as they send their little checks off to this mother, but the majority of people who look at this action know it for what it is: a selfish act by a woman who obviously has mental health issues.
Yes, social services should intervene. No same woman would do this act. No, not even some religious nut.
As for those of us commenting doing so out of envy, well, all I can say is you and this woman do truly think alike. Hopefully, you’ll continue to be the minority, if our world is to survive.
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Angela Suleman is the grandmother. The mother is still anonymous.
I bet they are homeschooling, so public school resources won’t be an issue.
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