...And speaking of large litters...

Here is a story that is just breaking.

 A woman in Los Angeles recently gave birth to eight babies, the result of visits to a fertility clinic. It turns out that she is single, in her thirties, living with her parents in a three bedroom home. She already has six young children ranging in age from 2 to 7, including twins, living in the same home.

Doctors tried to get her to limit the number of embryos (they knew about seven; the eighth was a surprise) but she refused.

The family has recently filed for bankruptcy and walked away from a house where they defaulted on a mortgage. The father of the eight and the grandfather are reportedly back in the Middle East working to support the eight babies.

The mother plans to breast feed.

Comments

[jackie]

first of all, where the feck did she get the money for this? and what respectable dr. would agree to implant embryos to a woman with no husband, no means of support and already has 6 fucking kids..now here is a perfect example of why I believe in spaying certain females..and that damn dr. should lose his liscens..and for all that..they should take all those kids away from that woman...and unless she's a cow there is no way she's going to breast feed 8 babies..judas priest..

[Khyra]

I'm keeping my mom away from the 'puter so she doesn't khomment...

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra

[schnoodlepooh]

good grief. that's a lot of babies. ouch on the breast feeding. do you think there's enough milk for 8 babies? that lady must like kids. there's no way she will be able to afford day care.

[YesBiscuit!]

Humans are not designed for having octuplets. (Note the TWO breasts on the females.) And all the rest of it ain't right neitha.

[paintsmh]

My friends and I have been trying to figure this one out since the news hit. We STILL can't come up with any logical reason why the doctors allowed her the fertility treatments. Obviously she hadn't had any er problems prior to these babies. Our brains are still at a total loss...and we spent almost 3 hours trying to figure it out between 7 of us yesterday!

[Marion]

I find this to be one of the strangest stories I've heard. In the first place, I don't understand why, when one already has six children...one would want fertility treatments in the first place.

And how on earth could it be possible to breast feed 8 children, and have enough milk for them all?

I can't understand this whole thing.

[Shannon]

yet she is currently feeding them donated milk. I cannot believe they implanted that many! Europe has strict limits on the number that can be implanted for a reason! We are not dogs. Actually eight would be too much for most dogs too! Poor kids...

[cube]

This story is wrong on so many levels, it's hard to even know where to start. These doctors should never have allowed this much implantation on any woman, much less one with 6 children. Just because we have the technology to do a thing, doesn't mean we should.

Setting aside the myriad financial and moral problems that will arise from this, what about the future health of these poor little babies? Will there be life-long medical sequelae from their freakish birth?

I believe this whole incident was poorly thought through and totally irresponsible, but I hope, for the babies' sake, that it works out for them.

[Lynn Sinclair]

Incredibly irresponsible -- mother and doctors both.

[rosemary]

OK...six kids = pre-institution material. 14 kids = admit her. I read in the paper this morning that her mother said she wished her daughter had just become a kindergarten teacher.

[Steve Bartlett]

Just be glad you don't have socialized medicine(yet). Think how many she could have had if all of you were paying for it :)

[Jan]

Steve,
I have a feeling we might BE paying for it. I live in California where it all took place. The cost for the fertility treatments, childbirth procedures and health problems of the babies will probably reach millions according to what I read.

[Jimmy]

I think the doctors who performed the fertility treatments should have to foot the bill or get a foot up their arse!

[Wendy]

Are there any laws to get the drs involved to help pay child support? OMGoodness. 14 kids, eight of them wee babies?

Every once in a while we foster a litter or two of kittens and that is enough to drive us all bonkers in 5 short weeks. Notice I said *us*, plural, two adults.

[Biggie-Z]

Not only irresponsible, also unethical on the part of the doctor!

I wonder if she has the same problem as the people who hoard animals (pets) when they are completely incapable of caring for them?

[Lindsay]

Anyone can have as many babies as they physically can. There's no stopping them legally. Some people can't afford one or two babies, but most people still have kids.

This kind of reminds me of the people who get too many animals. But there are laws against that in some areas.