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The Muskogee Phoenix
Nadya Suleman, who recently gave birth to octuplets, has opened herself to a great deal of criticism.
Motherhood is a responsibility that should be honored and taken seriously. But Suleman obviously is a woman obsessed with having children without consideration for their long-term care.
First, Suleman put herself at great risk to have more children when she already had six.
Her 14 children were all implanted into her womb. The last in vitro fertilization, six embryos, apparently exceeded the number that is safe to implant for a woman her age. The California Medical Board is reviewing the process, and it should discipline the doctor who implanted the embryos if that’s the case.
Suleman also was on disability, according to reports, because of a bad back, which was complicated by pregnancy. In addition, she suffered from depression and had been prescribed anti-depressants. Having more children when she had several health risks and coping problems does not appear responsible. Someone else easily could have ended up having to care for her children.
And actually, that’s already happening. Suleman’s mother is complaining publicly because she is caring for the six while Suleman recovers and prepares for bringing home the eight newborns.
We are not trying to set a limit on the number of children a woman can have, but it appears Suleman had children without considering how much assistance she would need to care for them. Some mothers need help because of circumstances beyond their control. Suleman had control, but didn’t consider the consequences.
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Nadya Suleman — (Wikipedia)
Suleman began IVF treatments in 1997, when she was 21 years old, under the supervision of Dr. Michael Kamrava, who was later expelled from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
In 2001 Suleman gave birth to her first child, a son. In 2002, she gave birth to her first daughter. Suleman continued IVF treatments which resulted in three further pregnancies (including one set of fraternal twins) for a total of six children (four sons, two daughters).
Octuplets
In 2009, Suleman stated that she had six embryos left over from her previous IVF treatments. She explained that she requested all of the remaining embryos be transferred into her uterus at one time. A woman her age would normally have a maximum of three embryos transferred. Suleman states that part of her reasoning for attempting a sixth pregnancy was so that the frozen embryos would not be destroyed. Fresh cycles were always done, despite there being available frozen embryos stored with Dr Kamrava. In June 2011, during a California Medical Board investigation, it was found that Kamrava had transferred twelve embryos, which the board found to be an “extreme” departure from standard of care. After reviewing Suleman’s case, in combination with three other cases, the Medical Board of California voted to revoke Kamrava’s medical license, effective July 1, 2011. According to The New York Times, Kamrava hid his assets in the Cook Islands, making use of its asset-protection trust laws.
News of the octuplets caused an international media sensation. Public response was largely negative, including death threats.There has been much public discussion about Suleman’s decision to have the octuplets, including a minor protest outside the Suleman home. Many expressed concern that Suleman’s decision for more children would burden taxpayers via public support. Suleman claimed to be able to independently support her children saying she was planning to return to school to complete a master’s degree in counseling, but records showed that Suleman was unemployed after having received disability between 2002 and 2008, as payment for a back injury suffered during a riot in September 1999.
In March 2009 Suleman bought a new house in La Habra, and many stories questioned that the octuplets would be released from the hospital, while Suleman expressed concern about losing custody of them. In the early morning hours of April 1, the day she would bring home the seventh octuplet, vandals threw a baby seat through the back window of her Toyota minivan. As of April 14, 2009, all of the children were home with their mother and grandmother. The octuplets celebrated their first birthday on January 26, 2010. Suleman told People magazine, “I don’t get much sleep, but I’m used to that. Once one of the kids gets up, they all get up. Some nights I don’t sleep at all or as little as half an hour. On the good nights I may get up to two full hours. The longest I’ve gone without sleeping is 72 hours. It’s hard, but I’m continuing to move forward with my life and trying to be the best mother I can be.”[34] As of October 2019, Suleman and her children were said to be living in a cramped three-bedroom rented condo in southern California — with some of her children sleeping on the sofa