Thursday, February 19, 2009

Science or circus?

It seems that the American’s always want more no matter the consequences. We as a society tend to be gluttonous and selfish; especially when it comes to food and money. But now we can add babies to the list things we need more of.

Apparently if you have more babies than nature intended new opportunities open to you. Perhaps that is the real motivation behind this mother having so many babies…all at once. This of course is in addition to her other 6 children she had previously. My question is how she paid for the in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the first place at nearly $20,000 per cycle. This is a woman who is in danger of having her house foreclosed upon and is living on food stamps and her phone has been disconnected. She has defaulted on student loans and is planning go further her education with a masters degree. How can she responsibly take care of and provide for these children when her priorities are obviously skewed? Perhaps the TV interviews and rights to the innocent pictures of these fragile babies in isolettes will provide a roof over their heads and food in their bellies.

The expense of care will fall onto the tax payers of California, which incidentally is also financially struggling. Who is going to pay for their well-baby checks and vaccinations and formula and prescriptions? What about the physical and developmental issues they may all come to bear? How can we be sure she is even able to care for these babies? And ultimately be responsible for their character development and becoming productive members of society? Clearly her judgment is impaired and making responsible decisions is not something she is experienced with.
Disclaimer: Obviously the fertility specialist is not free from blame in this situation. Abusing medical technology for personal gain is not only irresponsible, but unethical. Medicine is a science, not a circus.

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