Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Should fertility treatments be limited?

Along with the rest of the country, I have to admit I was intrigued by the story of the Southern California mom who recently gave birth to 8 children...and has 6 more at home.
Although we have not heard from the mother herself, her own mother has spoken up and claimed that her daughter is "obsessed" with having children, and since she cannot conceive naturally, has used fertility treatments to have all of her children.
It should probably be noted that the mother, Nadya Suleman, is not married. Or should it?
This whole thing raises a lot of questions. Is it okay for a single parent to have multiple children without a supporting parent present?
Is it more okay or less okay if that single parent conceives the children naturally?
Say the parent is married and just really, really loves children. Is there a limit at which someone has had enough children? Who would set such a limit?
And what about the whole carrying of 8 children at once? That's a huge stress on a body, not to mention the babies. Should there be a limit on how many embryos are acceptable? Again, who would set that limit?
Well, it does seem that someone would like to set a limit, or at least strong recommendations. In June, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) issued updated "Guidelines on Number of Embryos Transferred." Women under age 35 - the octuplets' mom is reportedly 33 - should attempt to transfer no more than two, and preferably only one, fertilized embryo at a time. Women over age 40 should attempt no more than five.
(Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090204/hl_time/08599187623200)
A former nanny to Suleman said that she was told at one point that the mother did not have to pay for her multiple fertility treatments, because it was paid for by another party. No further details were given.
Hmmm. I don't know exactly where those funds came from, but I do know that fertility treatments are very expensive. Should, perhaps, that money be put towards the care of her current children?
Another issue that has been raised is that of the cost of raising 8 babies all at once - not a small issue, as anyone raising one or more children can attest. A news story recently reported that the mother had already been receiving TV, magazine, and book offers to tell her story. So should we assume that the children will be cared for using that money? Did the mother assume that such offers would be forthcoming?
Of course, we don't have any of these answers. But I can't help but ask them.
I must say, that although I have been very blessed with my children and have not faced fertility issues, I have friends who have - and I have witnessed just how difficult, painful, and expensive such a thing can be. So my heart goes out to any woman or couple who wants a child and has difficulty having one. I am not against fertility treatments, especially when it can give a baby to a family who desperately wants that child. Or even children, as fertility treatments commonly result in multiple births.
But 8?
As always, I welcome your comments!

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