Octuplets

There's a major debate going on in the media over whether we should feel pity or anger for/towards Nadya Suleman, the woman who gave birth to octuplets last month. Here's my take on the situation:

In some ways, I feel a great deal of pity. This woman is very obviously mentally ill; I'm sorry that she found a fruitcake of a doctor who implanted eight embryos in her uterus, rather than a doctor who would direct her to a mental health provider, which I truly believes she needs. I feel pity for this 14 children. I'm sure that she, in her own way, loves them, but will any of them ever receive enough attention? With that many children, any couple would be stretched thin, but as a single mother, it's pretty much a given that some of those children will be pushed aside in favor of others.

In other ways, I'm extremely angry. This woman already is receiving government assistance for her previous six children. I can only imagine that, not only with her assistance continue, but actually will increase with the addition of eight more. This moronic doctor took major risks with both the mother's health and the health of her children. He's giving good infertility specialists a bad name. I'm angry that she's set up a Web site to solicit donations.

Was this all done for publicity? Did she think that she'd be hailed as a wonderful mother? Did she think that she'd receive all sorts of free gifts and money? There's just something wrong about this entire situation.