Suleman Octuplets Are a Good Reason to Look at Fertility Regulation

I am weary of the Nadya Suleman coverage. The tiny octuplets. 14 kids altogether. Unemployed mom. Not to mention that whole sort of looking like Angelina Jolie thing.

But one aspect of this baby circus is worth talking about -- the fertility industry. Yes -- it's an industry, both here and around the world. It's a business to the tune of billions of dollars a year. The more fertility treatments that women have, the more money doctors make. It's not really complicated.

Don't get me wrong. We went down the fertility road when we were trying to have a family. I have no problem with anyone deciding that fertility treatments are appropriate for them.

While I was on the Clomid train, there were no questions about what kind of parents we'd make, or what our joint incomes were. No one stopped us at the door and demanded to take a peak for dust bunnies in our house or to check the expiration date on our kitchen fire extinguisher. There were no laws we had to comply with and no one wanted to know how much any baby that resulted from those treatments was going to cost.

All that changed when we stepped off the societally accepted way of making a family, the new-fashioned spin on the old-fashioned way, and decided to adopt.

Once we were on the road to adopting the baby who ultimately became PunditGirl, we were required to be fingerprinted by the state and federal governments to make sure we had no criminal background. Health and fire inspectors were mandated to come to our house to certify that we had a safe environment for any child who was to become ours. We had to submit several years worth of financial statements to prove that we could afford to care for a child. Many of our friends were called on to sign notarized statements that we would be good parents. And, just for good measure, Mr. PunditMom and I had to sit through several sessions with a therapist to talk about our family social histories, as well as our feelings on corporal punishment. Then, and only then, were we permitted to be considered as a potential adoptive family.

Oh, and the best part? We really enjoyed spending time with people who felt like they could ask us how much our baby would "cost" and those who kept urging me to keep trying one more treatment in the fertility arsenal so I could have a baby "of my own." And, of course, there are also those who think I'm not even a mom since PunditGirl, as she used to say, wasn't "borned" from me.

Many in the fertility industry contend that it would be too burdensome to have requirements surrounding fertility procedures, claiming that self-regulation is the way to go. Free markets, and all. Hmm, where have I heard that before?

I'm not saying that it's a bad thing for there to be hoops to jump through before someone can adopt a child. But if there are scores of laws that address and regulate the adoption process, why is it any less important that there be some regulations when it comes to giving the go-ahead for people to have eight embryos implanted at one time? In one article, an ethicist reasoned that government is "loathe" to tell people who can and can't be parents. Except that the government does it every day when it comes to adoption.

The regulation question isn't about parenting. It's about business. No one's bottom line was enhanced by the fees we paid to the non-profit agency we chose. And it's OK with me that the orphanage PunditGirl lived in for a year, where a handful of caregivers manage 100 or more babies every day, might have used some of the money to buy modern washing machines so they didn't have to wash all those baby clothes by hand.

But don't tell me that the lack of regulation in the fertility industry is about the government wanting to stay out of decisions by those who want to become parents. The government had no problem poking its nose into just about everything in my life before I was allowed to become a mother. If that's going to be the case, then I don't see how it's all that different for fertility businesses.

Joanne Bamberger is a professional writer and political/media analyst & consultant in Washington, D.C. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of the political blog, PunditMom. You can also find her at BlogHer, where she is a Contributing Editor, and MOMocrats.

Comments

[lucyreed]

Has it occured to anyone that this woman is mentally ill? She exhibits signs of obsessive compulsive disorder of the hoarding type. Nadya collects/hoards babies like some people do shoes, or china, or pets. We've all heard news stories of the crazy old woman with 95 cats living in her house. One was not enough and 94 were not enough. It's the same with Nadya. It's too bad she didn't receive counseling prior to her fertility treatments. Even a mediocre psychologist would have spotted the signs of her disease and urged her to get it under control.

[feyangel]

I was just reading an article about this woman "facing" off against her mom about her choice to have these children. Honestly-- I think this woman's mom should step back from helping her raise these kids. Suleman wanted them--let her spend all her time raising them instead of doing "glamorous" interviews about them. I have four daughters and I have always told them not to have kids till they were ready to raise them-- cos unless there was a true emergency, I would not consider that my job. Suleman's arguments about how not doing anything with the frozen embryos (why did she create them in the beginning??) or giving them to someone who couldn't have kids of their own, just don't hold water when you consider the fact she-- Suleman-- can't support nor care for these kids on her own. Period. Without other people's help she just could not care for these little people she created, pretty much on her own and without consulting anyone except her irresponsible doctor. Actually, maybe he should help support them, since he chose to help her make her ridiculous decision. I am a mom and grandmom, and I adore kids-- but a person has a responsibility to a child one brings into the world-- and to the world to do a good job parenting. Can Suleman fulfill either of those responsibilities on her own?

[milo h minderbinder]

Good article, although to be fair, in this particular case the doctor transferred six, not eight. Still an irresponsible number though, and I'd agree on supporting some sensible regulation of the industry, particularly the number that can be transferred at one time.

[Sunshine85]

Why are women so obsessed with having babies. Do something else good with your life. I think that you shouldn't even be aloud to have sex without a psychological examination. I blame all issues on bad parenting.

My real point is... This lady and her 'doctor' (who doesn't care about the health of his patients) should be arrested for child abuse.

[Anonani]

As the real story unfolds, the fertility doctor did no more or less than his colleagues do across the nation. You can choose to blame this woman, but line up every doc who is out there perpetrating the same on his/her patients daily. For whatever the reason, those 8 babies survived despite the odds and they appear to be healthy and thriving. The ethical decision making belongs to the doctor, not the woman. I did not read that she held a weapon to his head and forced him to do any of this!

[Sunshine85]

Did you know that 3 of her other 6 children have developmental problems? One is autistic. Do you then believe that all 8 of these tiny premature children will all be perfect? Its a slim to none chance. A doctor knows the background of his patients and is expected to make rational decisions about what he does with this information. A normal fertility specialist will implant 2 to 3 embryos. He went outside medical procedure because he made more money. He should have his license taken away.
He knew that it was unsafe for the babies and the mother to do what he did. Even if she asked him to do it that doesn't make it okay.

[milo h minderbinder]

"the fertility doctor did no more or less than his colleagues do across the nation"

I'm not sure what gave you that idea, but it's completely untrue. Sure, he's probably not the only bad fertility doctor (and yes, anyone else this negligent should be investigated as well), but the vast majority follow the guidelines and make avoiding high order multiples an extremely high priority. This doctor went way beyond the guidelines and WAY beyond the national average for a woman in this condition, that's a fact.

[l3randon]

Fertility regulation? Really? How about figuring out what is so wrong with the welfare system that a lazy, jobless woman who already has six kids can come up with $100,000 to pay for IVF? This is an extraordinarily weak argument: The current government-run welfare system is failing miserably, so we should create a new government system to try to fix a completely different problem.

[milo h minderbinder]

How about both? They aren't mutually exclusive.

This is a big problem with the way welfare works AND the fact that there is nothing stopping a doctor from ignoring the medical guidelines.

And we already have plenty of government regulation over medical practices, it would be simple to do something like regulate max number of embryos transferred at once, no need to "create a new government system".

[StringOfLights]

Thank you for this article. I was adopted and have been saying the exact same thing for years.

[bibimimi]

"PunditGirl" sounds like a rip. You found a good one to raise.

[bibimimi]

ps. Good luck to her on her 2036 presidential bid!

[bobtr900]

Yup, it's a the baby business is a business, and Repubs love business(bidness, binness) above all else.

[Supercruize]

I blame angelina jolie and brad pitt.

[MexDiva]

why? Affordability, time and willingness is all you need to be a parent. They have all these three. If this crazy woman thinks she is Angelina, it is not Angelina's fault.

[gbrooks]

Please people, the last thing we need is more regulation, more laws, based on one woman who's out of her freaking mind.

How many laws do we already have that are based on insane people's actions? Marijuana (a freaking plant!) is illegal, we have wars going on where we are killing third-world people by the hundreds and thousands in the name of oil and power, our economy is tanking, the whole world is destabilizing and we want to pass yet another law based on one nutjob.

She made the choice to do this, let her live with that choice. If you don't approve, find a way outside our already convoluted legal system, to let that be known. Your intentions may be good, but more laws will not solve the problem.

[milo h minderbinder]

Sorry, but more laws would probably help the problem (there's probably no way to completely solve it).

If there was a legal maximum on the number of embryos transferred at once, it hopefully would have kept the doctor from being irresponsible and transferring six at one time. And if he broke the law and did it anyway, there would be legal means of shutting him down and stopping him from doing it again.

This doctor has ANOTHER woman pregnant right now with quads, in her case he reportedly transferred SEVEN at once.

[ohioan73]

That woman is out of her mind. I have two kids that are well provided for and another sibling would throw their college money out of whack. Do unemployed people like her ever think of the futures of these Multi-pack newborns that will all be demanding 24 hour attention and expensive provisions at the same time?? You cant even hire a nanny!

[TXfemmom]

I went the infertility route, when Clomid and another injectable drug were all we had. Had a wonderful, demanding, cried all the time, bundle of joy with the minimum dosage on Clomid. My doctor, however, did speak to me about motherhood, but mostly because he was a chauvinist and wondered if a medical professional with 24 hour calls every week should be having a baby, period. I asked him if he thought about that before he HAD his three children and he shut up.

In the end, this industry needs some regulation, as it has become like the banking industry, deregulation of it has led to abuses. Doctors should have to do psychiatric evaluations of their patients, look at their status, such as already having six children under the age of eight, and then demanding to have eight embryos implanted all at once when they have no income, no partner, no health insurance, and obviously no common sense. Mother nature established its' rules, or at least some of them for a reason, as in humans do not normally have litters because human infants are helpless for a very long time, require constant attention and effection, and caring for more than two at a time is very, very difficult.

Child Protective Services should intervene and prevent this woman from taking these children home. She has no means to feed, clothe, or house them, and that is what anyone needs to be a parent.

[catzoned]

Reproduction is a natural inclination for many people. However, due to many medical reasons it can be very risky at any point of the pregnancy and delivery. Women still die from complications and stillbirths continue to this day. Complications from fertility processes increases these risks so added scruntiny should absolutely be considered before proceeding. It's fine that fertility is a business but since it's the business of healthcare, the harm versus benefit aspects need to measured carefully and by competent practitioners.

[Giada]

Any industry who forfeits internal self-regulation will find themselves subject to the passage of a regulatory law.

I've heard repeatedly Nadya Suleman under the care of most IVF docs would not pass pyschological testing.

And the doc would never pass scrutiny with an ethics board.

Ms Suleman stated to Ann Curry, she was depressed and suffered from suicidal ideation. I've yet to hear she received any therapy.

Dr Carole Lieberman, Psychiatrist filed a written complaint stating Ms Suleman is unfit to parent.

I would hope CPS insists on a Psych Eval.