Octuplets mom has a plan
Filed under: Kids and Money, Career
I wondered this weekend, who would pay for the octuplets (and their six siblings and mom's hospital bills)? It turns out there is an easy answer: come on, big money, big money. Just as opportunistic American media darlings like "bachelorette" Trista & her hubbie Ryan, the Roloff family, and others like them have shown the way. Mom Nadya Suleman is 33 and has 14 kids: it's time to go on Oprah. And Diane Sawyer. Hopefully, to the tune of $2 million.And when she's done there? It's the professional talking head circuit, where Suleman intends to be paid well for her expertise. In child rearing, of course. An eager public can only figure that if you've birthed 14 children in eight years and haven't yet been committed to a mental institution or run away, you must be a good mother!
As career arcs go, this is an interesting one, and raises new questions about her fertility treatments: did she hope for fame and fortune as the new coming of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" all along? I'd answer that question, but I'm headed to the obstetrician to beg for Clomid shots; my three little boys may be a handful but they're not getting me that TLC show on their own. [via mamikaze]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-02-2009 @ 2:59PM
AmberDawn McCall said...
Thanks for making me laugh at a situation that had me tied up in existential angst. (Freedom vs. Responsibility, the ability of mankind to create situations that are wrong on so many levels, what her behavior could cost other parents, etc.) In such a world, we simply MUST retain our ability to just, finally, laugh and shake our heads, and pray for the children.
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2-19-2009 @ 11:14PM
Kathy said...
Pray for the children? Laugh? This is no laughing situation. Each and every one of those children is already marked for a certain amount of suffering. No Mother has adequate time in their day to tend to 14 children in the way a mother should. Not to mention, no single mother has means to go through school and maintain a family of 15. Not even w/ Grandparents assistance.
Just because I want something certainly does not mean I can have it. Especially when there's no way that I can pay for and/or support that want.
Those children will certainly suffer parental negligence... they should be given to families that want them, and can and will afford them the attention and emotional support that they need.
We have facilities available to assist children, what in the hell is the holdup on assisting these children? There is most obviously a problem!!!!
2-24-2009 @ 3:36PM
Carol said...
I agree with both the "author" and the previous comments. I gave birth to twins (the old fashion way) and know that there is no way a single mother can handle that many children under the age of 6! My bigger question is how could an unemployeed person afford the numerous in-vitro procedures she had. The average cost of a single in-vitro procedure is around $6,000-$10,000. Most couples who go this route are burdened with extremely extensive bills even though they have insurance. SO HOW DID SHE DO IT???? WHO PAID THIS BILL????
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3-02-2009 @ 8:01AM
Rachel said...
She got $165.000 in disability, none of which (obviously) went to the care of any of the children she already has. She claims to have saved money...how she can do that and get away with receiving gov't assistance is beyond me!
Someone needs to intervene. I wonder if these children would survive life in that house...they have to have special physical needs at present. My sister-in-law had twins, and paid a lot in IVF to get them (they were unable to get pregnant after trying for a long time). She can barely make it through the day! I could barely manage with one infant at times (my daughter was very fussy). There is NO WAY she can handle 8. Even without the 6 she has.
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