Nadya Suleman, a 33-year-old California woman, gained fame and infamy recently due to the birth of her eight - yes, that's right, eight - babies. At first, the birth of the octuplets was proclaimed as a miracle. How often are eight babies carried to term, and delivered successfully? (The answer: not often.)
Soon, however, news spread of Suleman's situation. Suleman was unmarried, unemployed, and living with her parents. Suleman already had six children under the age of eight.
Her grand total of children: fourteen. That’s almost a Duggar family .
Unlike the other infamously large family, Suleman’s brood is the product of several in vitro fertilization treatments. Babies one through four were single births. Babies five and six are twins. The octuplets occurred when Suleman was implanted with six embryos – the standard, she says, of all of her treatments – and some of them split into twins.
Basically, Nadya Suleman has her very own future Little League team. Her womb is like a minivan.
Like most instant celebrities today, she experienced a backlash. People called her irresponsible and unstable. Perhaps she is. Most people today wouldn’t contemplate having more than three or four children, let alone fourteen. Most women who get in vitro fertilization treatments would stop at one or two successful tries, mostly due to the cost.
Maybe there’s a screw loose there somewhere. I watched an interview: she talked a lot about her need to “connect,” with people. She had several expensive procedures to have lots of kids, because she needed to create connections? In my eyes, that’s a bit of a red flag – but people have had children for worse reasons.
A person’s body is his or her own. A woman is free to have a child, regardless of her marital or work status. Suleman could wear a T-shirt with the logo, “I’ve just had a litter! Ask me how!” Likewise, I could shave off my hair and tattoo my skull green. I wouldn’t, though, because A) I like having hair, and B) I think it would be painful to have a tattoo on my skull. I’m against feeling large amounts of pain. Plus, I think it’s dumb.
There were huge, history-making trials in the states about a woman’s right to do what she wants with her body. (Roe V. Wade, anyone?)
Now concerned citizens and child-care professionals frothing to have the octuplets given up for adoption. Abuse! Neglect! Bitch craaazy!
That may be so, but there were times when I suspected that my own mother was crazy. She still managed to raise her children to be semi-functional adults. (Also: Hi, Mom! I don’t think you’re crazy!) Unless there’s proof that a mother is abusing her children, or is an unfit parent, those children can’t be taken away from her.
What’s crazier is the host of other chaos surrounding this story. The house will be foreclosed! The grandfather is travelling overseas to work to support his daughter’s brood! A potential father has come forward because he claims he donated sperm for Suleman back in the nineties!
My favourite, though, are the rumours that Suleman did this because she wants to be like Angelina Jolie.
Really, though: who doesn’t?
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