i'm sure by now we've all heard about the california mother who gave birth to 8, that's right, 8 babies. here are some tidbits you might not have heard.
- she has 6 other children, all under 8 years old
- she is a single mother
- she is unemployed, and currently receiving government assistance
- according to her own mother, she has an obsession with being pregnant
- each of her children were conceived using in-vitro fertilization
i'll be honest, i'm not even sure where to start, as there are so many things wrong with this picture. as i write this now, my BP is rising.
i'm angry as a woman who struggles with infertility, and has stared the ridiculous costs of IVF in the face. it's not cheap, and it's not covered by most private insurance plans. i am however sickened to know that government provided health care, for which i pay, does pay for such elective procedures as IVF. even more sickened to know that one does not need to have an infertility diagnosis to receive this elective procedure.
i'm angry as a taxpayer. my tax dollars paid for this. THIS! really?!?
i'm angry as a member of the medical community, on so many levels. there has already been much made about implanting 8 embryos, and the views of several medical professionals has been expressed. regardless of how many children she already had, carrying that many fetuses put not only the mother, but each baby at risk for significant health problem. this is a straight up act of negligence on the part of the physician who agreed to participate in the medical care of this woman and the babies. second, it was known that she was obsessed with being pregnant. someone in the chain had a responsibility to offer and provide mental health counseling to this woman.
i'm angry at the healthcare system that allowed this to happen. this wasn't her first ride at the rodeo. she had the same procedure done 6 times prior. IVF is 10-15k each time. that's right, 70-105k in elective medical procedures, all of which come with significant medical risk. and lets not forget about all the pre-natal care, labor and delivery care, and post-natal care. hundreds of thousand of dollars.
i'm angry at her family support (or lack thereof). the woman's family didn't step in to say maybe this is enough. she does not have a job, and has been living off others for help. to top it all off, the latest reports state that she is seeking multi million dollar endorsements from big name TV personalities like Oprah to pay for the care of the children.
it's sad really. i feel saddened for the 8 babies who were brought into this world because of an obsession, and will now be whorred out to the world so mamma can make some money. i'm not going to go crazy spiritual, but this was not at all what was intended for the world. it sickens be that the world has so perverted the idea of family, and doing the right thing, that we are showing people its easier to abuse a corrupt and broken system than try to do what's right and noble.
i could go on for hours about this. i don't really feel that much better either.
