I’m delighted to see that people are raising some pointed criticisms about the single woman with six children who decided to fill her womb with octuplets, endangering them in the process and hogging neonatal resources. This commentary is by Thomas H. Murray of the Hastings Center, in an article published by CNN [1]:
The point of infertility treatment, after all, is to create a child. But that child-to-be is not the clinic’s patient — the would-be parents are. I believe that the interests of those children deserve at least as much consideration as the wishes of the prospective parents.
The vast majority of infertility patients are no doubt fierce advocates for the well-being of the child they so earnestly seek to bring into their lives. What happens, though, when the client’s request shows little consideration or regard for the welfare of the would-be children? What happens if a woman in her early 30s with six children wants eight embryos implanted all at once?
A responsible physician could turn down such a request, citing professional guidelines that counsel implanting one, at most two, embryos in women younger than 35. How Nadya Suleman ended up with eight is a mystery . . . Carrying more than a couple of fetuses is dangerous to the pregnant woman and to the health and survival of the fetuses in her womb.
Congratulations to those many dedicated health care providers [2]for providing excellent care for those eight children. Shame on the mother for taking on such a massive risk with the health of her children and for — yes — procreating arrogantly. It’s the same attitude that is exhibited by those guys who work their way around town impregnating woman after woman, so many that they can’t possibly give them any meaningful parenting. Reproduction should never be treated as a competition. Reproduction should never be thoughtless.
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