I’ve come to defend Nadya Suleman. Yes, it’s pretty lonely over here. Can’t see anyone for miles. But I’ve been having one of those ‘has-everyone-lost-their-minds’ moments and now I must speak.
Ready? Let’s go.
Facts first. Nadya is the 33-year-old American woman who gave birth to octuplets in January. She already had six kids, all born after IVF treatment using the donor sperm of a male friend. Currently, Nadya is not financially independent. She receives some government assistance and support from her parents. She is single.
Since the octuplets’ birth, Nadya is also the victim of an unprecedented international outpouring of hate, rage and scorn. She has received hundreds of death threats. Oh wait. Maybe it’s not unprecedented. Maybe other people have been the target of similar mass public outrage. People like murderers, serial killers and child abusers. People who have committed unspeakable crimes. People like that. And this is the part I find utterly astonishing; the part that makes me want to shake the world and shout, ‘WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU ALL?”
Because when you drill down, Nadya Suleman’s heinous crime appears to be this: she’s had ‘too many’ children. I’m not sure who decides the correct number. Is it Peter Costello? Centrelink? God?
And how do you define ‘too many’? Is it more children than you can afford to send to private schools? More children than you can feed and clothe? Or more children than you can love? Because by those measures, there are plenty of parents for whom even one child is too many.
Nadya does seem a little bit crackers, I’ll give you that. Any woman in her situation who believes it’s a good idea to keep having babies is naive at best, irresponsible at worst. Let’s call her ‘recklessly optimistic’.
But here is a key point you may have missed (I did, at first): NADYA SULEMAN NEVER SET OUT TO HAVE OCTUPLETS (oh I’m shouty today, aren’t I…).
Top Comments
The issue of child abuse raised by Shelby and Jenn | Sunday, March 22, 2009 at 06:08 PM is interesting. What constitutes child abuse? according to the UN An estimated 300 million children worldwide are subjected to violence, exploitation and abuse including the worst forms of child labor in communities, schools and institutions; during armed conflict; and to harmful practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting and child marriage.
Child abuse is NOT going without ballet lessons, your own mobile phone nor your own bedroom.
Nadya thought with the last cycle she would at most get twins. A family of 8 is still large by western standards. They may not have been living the life of Riley. My kids get as much enjoyment from the box as the toy that came inside it.
You have also overstepped the mark assuming all sorts of medical problems. I had premmie twins and one was just 1.8kg. 5 years later she is perfectly fine physically and top of her class.
Ha! Just wrote a blog with similar title: www.blossomclinic.wordpress...
Thanks for sharing.