What is wrong with people?
Is it just me, or are some people in the world completely bonkers?
On 26th January, we had 33-year-old Nadya Suleman in California giving birth to not one, not two, not even five, but EIGHT babies. At first glance, this seemed like an extraordinary tale of survival, as they are thought to be only the second case of octuplets ever to live for more than a few hours (though the medical team didn’t actually know there were eight of the little blighters in there until they delivered the seventh and spotted another – probably hiding at the back like I used to do in Maths).
As the days have progressed, we discover that it wasn’t just some miracle of birth, rather that the mother had had IVF treatment, was implanted with six embryos (two of which split to create the two extra babies), neither of which would invite too much criticism on their own, until you find out she already has six children under eight, three of which have disabilities, plus she’s a single mother.
Now, just to be clear, I have nothing against women wanting to raise children on their own, though basic common sense would suggest that two pairs of hands are better than one – even when dealing with just one child – nor would I ever advocate forcing someone into ‘selective reduction’ – the process where you lessen the risk of your multiple birth by ‘choosing’ five or so babies to be aborted.
My utter lack of comprehension comes from the point where Ms Suleman, who lives with her parents and calls herself a ‘professional student’, thought, “Hmm…I’ve already got six children that my parents have to both look after and support financially, I know what I should do – be implanted with six embryos so I can have yet more children!” Even her mother described the decision as unconscionable, saying that she’s already struggling to look after the original six.
Again, I don’t think anyone should be told how many children they should have, but I would at least hope that people assess all aspects of their situation before deciding to have a child or children – otherwise it’s just irresponsible, surely? The fact that “[it] was always a dream of mine, to have a large family, a huge family”, so says the mother, is not reason enough for me. You also have to ask: IVF is expensive, no? Where on earth did that cash come from? Not forgetting there’s no NHS in the States; they’re estimating a cost of $1.3 million for the Caesarean births and hospital stay. Crikey Moses.
The obvious follow-up question is for the doctor who transferred the embryos, (clearly going against US fertility treatment guidelines, which say only two embryos should be implanted) and it would be something along the lines of, “what in the name of all that is good and pure were you thinking??” I suppose at least that’s one thing we’ve managed to get right in the UK; it’s actually law that not more than three embryos are implanted.
The part of the story that would be laughable if it wasn’t actually the truth, is that Ms Suleman plans to have a career as a television childcare expert and wants $2 million from media interviews and commercial sponsorship, as presumably the education grants and parental money won’t cover the cost of 14 children (estimated to be between $1.3 and $2.7 million till they reach the age of 17). Particularly as her parents filed for bankruptcy in 2007 and had to move into the house they'd bought for their daughter.
Then, on Friday, the lovely Pies alerted me to a story that our very own Sun newspaper had broken, in which we’re told how 13-year-old Alfie Patten has fathered a child with his 15-year-old girlfriend, Chantelle Steadman. (If that kid’s thirteen, I’ll eat fish eyes the next time I go for Chinese – he looks about seven!) They are claiming they didn’t realise what would happen if they had sex, and where a 12-year-old boy is concerned, I can believe that – boys are stupid as we know – but I struggle to understand how a 14-year-old girl (as she was at the time of conception) can be that ignorant.
Proving just how ill-prepared he is for fatherhood, Alfie said (while selling his story and exclusive pictures of his daughter to the paper), “I thought it would be good to have a baby. I didn’t really think about how we would afford it.” Oh good. I guess that’s another couple of weekly welfare cheques winging their way to Chantelle’s parents’ rented council house, where she lives with five siblings. Yep, that’s right. Neither of her parents work and they survive on state benefits. As pointed out by my own mother last night, “the cynic in you wonders if she (or more likely the parents) knew exactly what she was doing and saw the potential wealth to be had, both from the media and from the government”. Chantelle only has to wait a year and then she can claim too.
That would very much explain what on earth was going through her parents’ minds when they allowed a 12-year-old boy to stay over at his girlfriend’s (their) house, because I can’t quite get over their stupidity if this isn’t a money-making scheme. What did you think they were doing in her bedroom? Playing tiddly winks??
Despite the fact that it’s illegal to have sex while under the age of 16, cases are rarely pursued to a prosecution on the grounds of public interest. But what about investigating and charging the parents? At the very least, that might provide some incentive to explain the consequences of certain bedroom actions.
What has also baffled me about this story, is that about 50% of the people who have commented on it (on The Times’ website, dahhling, you don’t think I actually read The Sun? Well, ok, just once, and that was just to get the link for the blog posting. Honest, guv) are full of “people should get off their backs, I’m sure they’ll make great parents, all children need is love”-type drivel. Oh, wake up people! He’s not even old enough to get a job – will love pay for all the gubbins a kid needs?
And I haven’t even got the energy to speculate over whose idea it was to sell the story and whether the children’s privacy (by that I mean Alfie, Chantell and the baby) should really have been placed in higher esteem.
The bigger cynic in me agrees with some of the other comments: if he hasn’t yet reached puberty, how can he have fathered a child? Leading to the inevitable question of: is it even his? Mind you, he’s grown up learning that being a ‘celebrity’ is actually a career to aspire to; perhaps he doesn’t care that he’s being used as long as he gets his cut. (Though having watched the video of him, I think it’s more likely that he really does believe she’s his daughter.) Besides, it wouldn’t have made half such good headlines for the media if the father was more like 16.
Honestly. What is wrong with people?
PS On a slightly less rant-y note, I’ve become slightly addicted to The Times Online’s Spelling Bee training games today – is it wrong to get so much satisfaction and excitement from being able to spell ‘pugnacious’? You need to be able to hear the words, so possibly not the work-avoidance website of choice, but you should try it!
PPS Don't forget to tune in tomorrow - it's been way too long since I fulminated about Sarah Palin, but fortunately Greta van Susteren (the woman whose face doesn't move - if you don't believe me or you have no idea who she is [for which you should be very grateful] click on the video below where she’s talking to Alienface Cindy McCain) has made a special trip to Alaska for "Greta catches up with the Palins", which is airing this evening on Fox News. Just for your delectation, I shall be pulling it apart with witty commentary in a posting soon after.
