Friday, January 30, 2009

Culture of (Too Much) Life: The Epitome of Selfishness

Today's post is from a guest poster - my hubby, who was just foaming at the mouth to express a vent. Enjoy...

Recent news reports noted that a mother in California just gave birth to octuplets after using fertility drugs..and she already has six other kids!! As a childfree person who has heard the phrase "selfish" leveled at my kind for a lifestyle choice that affects me alone (still haven't heard a rational explanation for that one..?!), I am mindblown by the fact that this woman believes six children will somehow not provide her with the full maternal 'rewards' that she craves!

With conservatives pushing for laws that will allow pharmacists to flaunt the job duties they accepted when hired, so that control over reproductive rights can be manipulated, where is the outcry for doctors to be given the right to refuse fertility treatments to naive, narcissistic fools like this couple? First, there is no indication that the couple are billionaires - a status that, in this economy, would be necessary to fully support a family of 16 financially from birth through college. I guess the responsibility will be shared with, among others, the taxpayers.

But just as offensive is the notion that, since she chemically altered her body in favor of natalism despite doctors' warnings about the health risks to the kids, she is somehow doing a 'noble' thing. This is where the concept of "Culture Of Life" completely fails society. I'm not suggesting that abortion is a desirable method of birth control..but for all our contempt of China, they realize a few things that we don't, and it's one of the few downsides of democracy: NO ONE on Earth should be allowed to have unlimited children.

The poor elder siblings of these 'miracles' expressed excitement at having more brothers and sisters - oh, really? Get back to us in 6 - 12 years! How do these parents think they can possibly give every individual child anywhere near the attention, affection and guidance they'll need, when simply making and cramming food into their gullets will consume over 6 hours a day?!! What kind of relationships will the parents/aunts/uncles/grandparents/friends all have with each other, as they attempt to formulate and coordinate the protection and guidance of 14 teenagers and young adults through a world full of dangers that they themselves can't fully imagine? Will the parents even be HOME AND AWAKE during all this?! How many jobs would you have to hold, and hours of sleep lose, just to keep their asses in Underoos?! The upshot is, since the couple will never again have time for sex (or anything else), the shallow gene pool may be culled by default. But, hey, don't worry, all you natalists - these people will definitely seek, and almost certainly get, some form of welfare. Why don't conservatives think of THAT when they cackle about 'it's a child, not a choice'..hey, wait - it WAS a choice - it was MAN who put those drugs into this selfish woman, not God! Can't you picture God slapping forehead and saying, "Great - I'll have to make 37 more tornadoes just to clear land for crops to feed this batch!!"

And even not taking into account the wider implications of this selfishness (the strain on our food supply, heath care, taxes, etc.), the overarching obscenity of this is: WHY DIDN'T THEY ADOPT? Millions of orphaned, unloved, homeless children worldwide, and do you think adoption occurs to more than a few percent of would-be parents? "Honey, what would you like most in life?" "Why, 14 replicas OF MYSELF!!"

So my apologies for everything my "selfish" lifestyle has taken from my family, and from the world.

8 comments:

Miss Mo said...

Another great post. I cannot believe this situation. While a woman has a right to her reproductive choices, no sane society should react to this with anything other than horror.

I hope this serves as a wake up call. The greedy fertility industry needs to stop telling women that it's perfectly fine to have as many children as you want at whatever age you want them -- no matter what financial or familial situation you're in.

WhiteRaven Slade said...

Just as bad (possibly worse), this woman and her horde get perks that not even regular parent with normal child numbers get. Free diapers, donations, gifts from Talk Show hosts, and even their own TV shows!

Me said...

You can actually buy fertility drugs from overseas on the internet ... I'm guessing that is the case here. I seriously doubt any RE in their right mind would transfer 8 embryos in a woman of that age with that kind of demonstrated fertility (i.e., 6 previous live births).

Steph said...

I have heard she worked in a fertility clinic. I have no idea if that is true or not.
Either way, I cannot believe any RE would have put back 8 embryos. Most would only put back one with a woman her age. It is these sort of stories that make people think your average IVF is some sort of freak show.
No matter what the true details of this story are, it does a disservice to all involved. Irresponsible does not even begin to cover it.

Gumby said...

I haven't paid much attention to this story because I think it's so disgusting in itself and even more so that the media is giving this stupid bitch so much attention. Once again, reward the attention whore breeder.

BUT, I did hear from friends that this was an IVF procedure in which they transferred 8 embryos into her. As WaterBishop said, I know for a fact that no respectable clinic would transfer that many embryos. The maximum rate these days deemed acceptable by the fertility medicine field is 1 for a woman in her 20's, 2 for a 30-something woman, and 3 for a 40-something woman because as a woman ages her chances of getting and staying pregnant declines.

For that reason we were wondering if she had gone to a clinic outside the US - Mexico maybe? In any event, if it was a US clinic, they should be shut down immediately because there is absolutely NO reason why they should have transferred that many f'ing embryos!

Oh, but I don't know why we're focusing on this issue when the real horror is Mr. and Mrs. Childfreee's (and others like them) selfishness in not procreating as GOD intended! Barf!

Kristen said...

I love that poster, but it also makes me hurt in my special place.

eyemandy said...

The news has been saying that the fertility clinic implanted 4 eggs, all of which split. She used the same sperm donor for all of her kids, and he has asked her to stop.

Regardless of how she ended up with a litter, even one more is selfish. She lives in a two-bedroom house with her parents and her six other children.

And this lady wants a parenting show? Even if I were a parent, she doesn't seem like someone I'd want to take any kind of advice from.

As for the Duggars, from the poster, I don't hate on them for their choices. They are religious and are entitled to their beliefs that God will bless them with as many kids as she can possibly have. However, those kids are most certainly suffering in some way by living in a colony. Like you said, no individual needs met, but also, in order to afford to feed all of them, they use cheap un-wholesome ingredients like hot dogs.

GeorgeK said...

Well said and unfortunately the incident further illustrates the insanity of this world, that something like this can even be possible. Speaking of becoming sterile,My daughter wanted to get her tubes tied in the hospital after she gave birth to her third but they would not let her unless she had 4 children. Now she has 6. Here is someone with no means to support them, living in a bad area with little common sense and parenting skills, she is even having the baby on welfare's dime (the best medical insurance and care you can get), and yet they even hesitate? Doctor's who support this should be sued for endangering a child just by allowing people to have children who will probably endangered them.