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PiscesNadya Suleman, Go Away
I'm mad as hell the octuplets mom is giving IVF a bad name.
Guest blogger Elizabeth Kelly: IVF is an incredibly expensive and emotionally and physically taxing procedure that, sadly, doesn't work very well.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the likelihood of one transferred embryo turning into a real, live baby is only 28%. At my fertility clinic, one of the top in the nation, women under 38 who have five embryos transferred (the greatest number they have statistics for) have only a 37% chance of having one child, a 9.4% chance of twins, a 2.4% chance of triplets, a 0.8% chance of quadruplets and a 0.1% chance of quintuplets. And the only women who would have that many embryos transferred would be those who have had previous failed IVF cycles, poor quality embryos and/or other factors that make their chances of pregnancy low.
So it's not as though there are all these IVF doctors running rampant getting women pregnant with high-order multiples (triplets or more) with the wave of their magic wand. As someone who's gone through over a year of infertility treatment, I only wish it were that easy! It's almost unbelievable that Suleman could have gotten pregnant with eight kids, with or without IVF. And a patient like Suleman who is against selective reduction (reducing the number of fetuses in a high-order multiple pregnancy) shouldn't have had more than two embryos transferred in the first place, particularly if she's gotten pregnant from IVF in the past.
Now, in response to the irresponsibility of Suleman and her doctor (who is not even board-certified, by the way), there's a growing call for legislation to control the number of embryos a doctor is allowed to transfer with IVF. But telling doctors how to care for their patients is not the answer. I personally know of one woman with several previous failed IVFs who had seven embryos transferred and still didn't get pregnant. Do we really want to make it against the law for her to have more than two transferred next time around?
Furthermore, thanks to Suleman and her doctor, we've just taken a step back in getting couples with reproductive health issues the help many of them need to conceive. One in eight couples is infertile. IVF costs an average of over $8,000, not including medications (which can easily cost an additional $4,000), and many never get treatment because they simply can't afford it. Infertility is a medical condition that should be covered by insurance. But unfortunately, only 12 states mandate any infertility coverage, and very few companies offer it if they aren't forced to. Yet Suleman's case makes it sound as though any random mama wannabe need only sign up to get a free instant IVF litter to add to the welfare rolls. As our healthcare system comes under review and IVF becomes more common and less taboo, many infertile women have been hoping for real change. I only hope the "success story" of Suleman and her eight little miracles hasn't failed us.
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- 82 Comments
Agreeing with lisa, the level of bile directed against this woman is sickening as well as the cries of adopt the babies. Who the hell are any of you to judge her.
There is certainly a case for changing the site name to momjudgement
I am rapidly going off this site and the readers, many of whom are so full of hatred at times, I am glad I don’t know them in real life.
There are a couple of ongoing witch hunts which I find hard to stomach, particularly the ongoing Caylee Anthony murder trial. The cynical ‘this will get us visitors’ constant posting with links galore and salacious headlines do no favours to the memory of Caylee, they are shameful and exploitative.
A website would not get away with that in Ireland and I am glad, the level of unprofessionalism and ‘she is guilty’ in the reporting (has the trial ended and judgement passed - no) could lead to a mistrial and I wouldn’t want that on my conscience.
I have had 15 miscarriages, Yes 15! My Husbands insurance pays for NO IVF, nothing to even do with it, we can’t afford the $15,000 fees and the risk that we will lose again. How SAD I can’t have my own But I am expected to pay for someone elses!
Hey, have as many kids as you want. As long as you can take care of them up to “standards” then you can keep them, and social services can’t threaten to take them. But you pay for your own IVF. Why is it the state of CA’s duty to provide you with unlimited and expensive numbers of implanted kids when you’re already on food stamps? Why is it the state’s job to fund your pregnancies just because you don’t want to have a father for your kids? My wife and I had several miscarriages and one beautiful stillborn boy. We couldn’t afford IVF though we looked into it. How nice it would have been to soak the state with the bill. But fertile Mertle here (who is likely perfectly able to conceive naturally) gets her womb packed full of embryos and without a father, she gets a huge increase in her monthly welfare. Now she has a website asking for donations to support her babies? What is wrong with this picture? Is this what this country is turning into?
I really loved this article, it explained very well the difficulties of IVF and why government should not be involved in doctor patient relationships.
Nadya Suleman is a rare person to have concieved so many children through IVF, most women it is not that easy, as stated in the article. I do have to say that the doctor who helped her though is very irresponsible and should have his license revoked. A women with 6 children should NEVER be allowed to have more unless she can prove she can support them. I agree with other posts that if you are recieving public assistance you should not have more children.
To the first two commentors: how is it ‘jealousy’ to think that this woman is a lunatic? She IS giving IVF a bad name. Yes, she’s a medical miracle and I truly hope her babies are healthy and thrive but that doesn’t mean she’s not a mental case!
I feel that the PHYSICIAN that performed the IVF should have to support the newborns. Clearly he thought he would get some sort of fame for this outcome.I adopted an abused child and i can not get any help with his care which i knew going into the adoption. She should have known she could not afford more children so the Dr.should be made responsible not the public.
I would like to Answer the question of whether we should restrict the number of embryos being implanted! The answer is YES!! YES!! we should! There is no reason to implant any at all. As long as there are other children waiting for parents, and since we are overpopulated already, we should not implant any. I am sure it painful not to be able to be get pregnant, but it is even more painful not to be adopted.
I personally think that she is nuts to have all them kids only because it will be a day care that never ends. As far as the public paying for it , OH well, there is not much anybody can do about that, If we are going to judge every aspect of Nadyas life then we should do it for every women that ever had a baby on assistance weather she has 1 or 100. If her mom was so concerned about her, why didnt she say something BEFORE the babies were born? Before the movie and reality show offers? No, she waited until after the media got a hold of this to start BASHING her daughter and ruining the chance of her daughter making any money(to pay for this). I hope she gets a big ass deal. As far as the Doctor, He should have known better.
How did she pay for fertility but cannot provide for the children?
I agree with Richard Gozinya above. My husband and I are in a similar situation, and we find it sickening that we have to pay for Nadya’s children when we cannot afford IVF and are barely able to afford adoption fees for ONE child. Furthermore, throughout our THREE YEAR adoption journey, we have had to prove to numerous government agencies our fitness as parents, our financial ability to support ONE child, and worst of all, we have had to JUSTIFY WHY we even want to be parents in the first place. If she was already on government assistance for her family as it was, how in the world was she expecting to pay for any new babies that came along? And why wasn’t she investigated for the same things that we were subject to for our adoption of ONE child???
To Richard Gozinya - I posted the comment right above this one, and I just want to tell you how sorry I am to hear of your losses. I speak from experience and my heart when I say that I know how painful it is. May God bless you and your wife on your journey towards having a family.
I’m sorry but what she has done is going to hurt other people who need IVF.She HAD 6 other kids so she could get pregnant. The kids are going to pay for her mental illness. How is she going to support her family. There is no way she can give enough attention to all her kids since some have disabilities.
Why are you people so hateful. This is God’s work. If he did not want her to have those babies, just like some of you have said that you lost so many, she would have lost them. Instead, what happened, the embryos split and she got two sets of twins. I guess, she is the start of a dialogue that God, yes God, is using to have these scientists stop trying to create life in test tubes and other artificial ways. Have you ever wondered when we hear of the horrific things kids are doing may be because they were conceived unnaturally.
Stop the hating. Those babies are innocent and you cannot punish them for the Mother. Let them have a chance instead of the curses that you’re pliling on them as helpless and sick as they are.
Alot of these posts seem to say “Who am I to judge her?”. First and foremost, Ms. Suleman brought this upon herself since she has decided to try and sell her story to every news outlet, ask for donations and such. 2nd: As a California resident, my tax dollars are going to have to pay for the care of these children so I have a damn say. Wanting to have children is not a right, it’s a responsibility. Ms. Suleman is a selfish person who is only concerned about fame, fortune and is lying thru her teeth on TV constantly.
Let’s face it—-Nadya made a poor decision in bringing 8 more innocent babies into this world. I don’t blame them HOWEVER I don’t feel as though the California taxpayers should have to carry the burden of her having a total of 14 kids. Who does she think she’s kidding when she claims she wasn’t receiving government assistance? Hello, you were getting $600 each for the 3 kids for SSI, $490/month in foodstamps and medicare. Your hospital bill for the 8 babies is estimated between $1.5-$3 million of which Kaiser is asking Medicare to pay for.
In her interview she felt because the programs existed for those in need she was entitled to use them. When questioned by Ann Curry about her student loans and paying them back she said something like she could consolidate the loans and pay them back later on (UH—-hello…when will that be??) Then she made a statement that Welfare didn’t need to be paid back….so you’re basically saying you’re making the CA taxpayers pay for your kids’ SSI, medicare (with this now looming hospital bill of up to $3 million), plus foodstamps and you feel you’re entitled to this and don’t have to pay it back. What about the people who REALLY need this type of assistance to get back on their feet….because you so carelessly decided to bring 14 children into this world and are going to use all this assistance there may be none left for the others who REALLY TRULY need it.
She claims she’ll be able to support her family once she gets her masters degree. When does she plan to go to school and study…did she forget she has 14 kids now at home? And speaking of home, where are they all going to fit in that tiny 3 bedroom house. OH! I forgot—-you expect people to just feel sorry for you and GIVE you a new house that would be able to acommodate your large family.
Give me break….then your publicist appears on Dr.Phil last night? Kate Goesslin was on there too and said she has no clue how Nadya expects to make it through the 1st year…Kate said she had 50 people in that house the first few months helping out. People get burned out and leave….she said she didn’t leave her house for the 1st year the babies were born but she had a support system in place, a loving husband and friends.
I guess Nadya is depending the kindness of strangers (rich ones obviously) to help her out and raise her kids so she can go back to school and earn her masters degree and be able to support her family. Dr. Phil said even after getting her degree she’d probably only be making $40,000/year which is not even enough to support her kids….
She is clueless and just had those poor babies to satisfy her desire to be loved and fulfilled (since she claims she had such a dysfunctional childhood). Oh woe is me! Give me a break…I was an only child and sometimes was lonely…I had a dog! I didn’t run out and have 6 IVF procedures….
Nuff said—-she makes my blood boil….
Ms. Suleman is laughing her way to the banks while cashing her checks from all of her new found fame & fortune -
Another abuser of the system - too bad she’s allowed to breathe the same air I do!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m not jealous…I have 3 kids of my own but hey, I’m married and we waited til we we ABLE to afford to have children. We don’t expect the government to pay to raise our kids…
I’d like to know how she could have possibly saved up $100,000 to have all the IVF procedures done. She claimed she was working double shifts at her job. Yea, right while all the while drawing disability/workman’s comp. ($167,000 worth)
Her poor mother had to file for bankruptcy (and had previously lost another home) claiming $1 million in debt. Heck, Nadya told Ann Curry she was $50,000 in debt—-when we she ever be debt free? Probably never….maybe someone will come along and build her a nice house for her kids and pay for everything…I think that’s what she wants. If someone does bail her out what’s to prevent another delusional female to come along and do the same darned thing?
I’m mad as hell and don’t want to pay for her kids…..
Nadya Suleman is an idiot, and those children are the victims.
AS HER NAME INPLIES : NADIYA WHICH SHOULD MEAN NADIYA DIME FROM ME OR ANY OTHER PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, LET THE BACKERS OF WHAT SHE DID PAY HER !!!!!
This post shuts “jealousy” to me.Her fertility is better than most.Too many people are worried about the financial details when what really matters to a child is love and you can’t buy that.I’m not rich and I conceived my children naturally,so should my children be taken away?No one knows her motive or what’s in her heart.These babies deserve to be with their mother.