Thoughts on Nadya Suleman (CAUTION: Contains copious amounts of snark and hyperbole)

[matrixrefugee]

Aka "Litter Lady"

First off, her and that doctor who phone-booth stuffed her uterus fail Anatomy 101. Humans were *NOT* designed to carry litters. If we were, we'd have multiple sets of breasts/nipples/teats like a pig or a cat or a dog or some mammal that actually *has* a litter. I'm sure there are immature guys out there who'd think that would be awesome, but I'd be handing those guys some bags of bird seed to strap to their chests to see what it's like. Yes, I know twins and triplets and quads and quints sometimes happen naturally, but they're rare. Or at least they used to be, till the advent of fertility drugs and other reproductive technology (my personal jury is out on fertility drugs, but I believe IVF is a Very Bad Idea, for the reasons above and to come).

Also, what is this guy? One of the Bene Tleilaxu in Frank Herbert's "Dune" novels, the ones who used captured women (and the females of their own kind) for their axlotl tanks to grow gholas, etc? (Major spoilers, but for those not familiar with the Dune-verse, the Bene Tlielaxu were a race of bio-engineers whose main specialty seemed to be doing things that would give David Cronenberg and H.R. Giger both bad cases of PTSD. This includes using women to grow full-size clones of the deceased. Full-sized. Clones. Yeah. Think about that mental image for a moment...) Whoever that doctor is, he needs to have his medical license revoked to the point that he can't even offer an Advil to a person with a headache.

Second, while I know parental licensing is impossible to enforce without it becoming draconian, it's people like Ms. Suleman who cause me to think it's Not Such a Bad Idea. If you are not mentally stable enough to take care of yourself, let alone a child, removing you from the gene pool would not be such a bad idea. But then we get onto that slippery slope of eugenics, and think about how that's been used...

Third, Ms. Suleman, you are you. You are not Angelina Jolie, you don't look anything like her, plastic surgery or no. A few things that make you different: you haven't made all the movies that she's made. You therefore don't have the kind of money that Angelina has. Plus, you don't have Brad Pitt for a baby-daddy/common-law spouse. You've got some anonymous donor giving you his semen in test tubes or little plastic containers, or whatever it is they put it into to deliver it to the sperm bank.

However, you do have her tabloid notoriety. Up to and including *DEATH THREATS*. I have a sinking feeling you didn't see that one coming, in your quest for fame so you can get a handout for all those kids.

On top of this, you have three disabled kids -- including one who's autistic --, and the eight you just dragged into the world are all probably going to have health problems as well. What a way to mess up a kid's life from the follicular stage onward. To quote John Constantine in the movie, "They did what any good parent would do: they made it worse."

I wish to God that California CPS would take custody of all those kids, put them in good homes and put Ms. Suleman somewhere where she can't hurt anyone, including herself. And have only certified female caretakers looking after her, so she can't seduce some male caretaker and get herself knocked-up. Give this woman a collection of those animatronic baby dolls that they're using to teach teenagers about how high-maintenance babies are to encourage them to wait before they start popping kids out.

Yes, I'm mad as hell with this woman's actions.

Comments

[matrixrefugee.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, in the case of a couple who've exhausted the possibilities for having kids of their own, I can understand it perfectly, but this case has me throwing up my hands in shock and disgust.

And I can't recommend any of the Dune novels highly enough: I haven't finished all of the originals by Frank Herbert, aside from the first two (Dune and Dune Messiah), but I've been pecking away at the prequel series that his son Brian wrote, based on copious notes as well as a first draft for a final novel that his father had left in a safe deposit box at the time of his death.

[koemiko.livejournal.com]

My sister works in the medical field... she says you see shit like this happen all the time. It's not that the Doctors are stupid, it's just that these idiots threaten lawsuits if doctors don't cram that many eggs up there. Worst part is that even if the doctors refuse, whether or not they get in a huge money battle with some batshit insane twatmuffin or not, they earn a nice dark stain on their reputation.

She (my sister) has also seen:
- People making babies stating, "hopefully, child services won't take THIS one away!"
- People making babies who are struggling with income. Upon receiving donations, they start bragging about the new big screen TV they got
- A couple who were standing in the check-in area, while the wife is about to go into labor, waving away the staff (who are trying to get her checked in) so she and her family could respond to the local news station.

My Mom (who ALSO works in the medical field) suspects the reason she queefed out more is so she could ride the welfare/sympathy wave into a vacation from responsibility.





I bet her uterus isn't on speaking terms with her.

[veilofveronica.livejournal.com]

I used to work for CFS (CPS in the USA) and saw so many children that were neglected and crying out for decent foster homes. If Ms. Suleman REALLY wanted to be a mother, why could she not have been a foster parent? So many children out there that desperately need homes and loving care, and she instead decides to parent fourteen kids she can't provide for? (I also would like to know where she got the money for the proceedure..IVF is far from cheap.)

I do understand totally why single women or couples with fertility issues might choose IVF. I honestly don't know what I would do in the same situation. I'd like to think I'd adopt or be a foster mom, but I can understand the need to want to be a natural mother. HOWEVER...wanting to be a parent and being mature and stable enough to be one are two different things. To me, it's clear that this woman, regardless of her financial stature (which I don't think is determinant of whether or not someone can parent.), has some real issues that should have been dealt with before she had kids. How is she going to deal with fourteen screaming toddlers? Or teens? Did she even think of that?
Parent licensing might seem tempting, but to me opens up the whole eugenics can of worms that we can't afford to do. However, there should be a point where doctors reasonably refuse such a proceedure (and there is) regardless of the ability of a person to pay. I think the doctor/clinic that agreed to this is just as culpable.
Another issue that may sound cold..it's the taxpayers that are going to end up providing the millions to care for the children that have disabilities..and likely, the newest octuplets will have some that may be severe. I also work in a developmental centre for children with severe disabilities. Parents caring for ONE of these children often find it too much, even if they are their only child, let alone several.
I don't think she truly knows what she is in for, and it seems she's not taking responsibility for that and wants society to pick up the tab. We didn't choose to impregnate her with fourteen babies..she did. And it's the kids I feel the sorriest for.
I just hope she has a lot of support around her, so that this doesn't end up tragic for everyone involved.