Because it went so well the last time we let doctors decide which patients should have babies.

[ohinternets.livejournal.com]

I've been really perplexed at the huge uproar over the woman who had octuplets yesterday. The mother is healthy, all eight babies are healthy, the family appears to be functional with plenty of (non government!) support, so what is the problem, exactly?

Apparently CNN questions the ethics of having that many babies at once. Among some of the reasons cited by experts (with obvious biases and agendas) are the usual concerns about the mother's health - which in this individual case, was never a concern - and the risk to babies in multiple births. Amazingly, though every set of triplets I've ever met was perfectly normal in every way, and being the parent of a child with special needs, I resent the implication that a disability might be a good cause to terminate a pregnancy, the scientists in the article advocate partial abortion be considered even in triplets. They do quote one guy who refers to fetal reduction as killing babies, but this is the note on which the article ends, and which is most scary to me:

[Sara] Rosenthal[, bioethicist at the University of Kentucky], on the other hand, questions the woman's capacity to make a good decision under the circumstances. Some neonatologists believe that when pregnant women are told about dangers of prematurity or have great expectations about giving birth, their judgment can be impaired, she said.

The situation raises the issue of whether a doctor ought to override a patient's wishes for the sake of saving lives, she said. Although the health care system in America gives patients autonomy in making decisions about their own bodies, when emotionally distraught, some people decide poorly, she said.

Eugenics v2, anyone? Except a million times worse. She is advocating forced abortions because pregnant women can't make rational decisions. What happened to "the government should stay out of our uteruses" rhetoric that most pro-abortion people advocate? The article ends by saying that women with that many fetuses shouldn't give birth to all of them even if they are all healthy - because it might encourage other women to do it, too.

I'm so beyond horrified right now, you guys.

Comments

[sreya.livejournal.com]

What I find most telling about this is the attitude that it's a horrible thing to have multiple children.

As the oldest of four children (almost of five), I've grown up with people expressing shock over the number of children in our family. Bwuh? Good GRIEF, it's only in the last century that families of 4 or less are even common, much less the norm. People used to pity women who couldn't a child or more than one in her lifetime. (Actually, in some cultures, these women were considered outcasts or otherwise treated poorly - not right, but shows the concern with having large families.) Now, a woman who CHOOSES to have multiple children, either by multiple pregnancies or in one, are somehow not thinking clearly?!

I just don't understand it, really. Yes, I am somewhat amazed by the families that have a dozen or more children in this day and age, but mostly it's awe that they can do it. That takes something really special, and usually produces some amazing members of society who REALLY understand the concepts of love and charity.

[longlostblue.livejournal.com]

I'm Mormon, and know quite a few families with 6+ children. Although I'm not from a large family, and personally wouldn't want one, I fail to see the problem with them. The majority of large families (in my experience) are organized, responsible, thriving, and, most importantly, happy.