A Woman Had Octuplets...

And so began a huge moral and ethical debate over reproductive technologies and who actually has the right to treatment and who has the right to refuse treatment. As a mom of "just" triplets I find higher order multiples frustrating. Not because I don't think it's cute but because I get asked about them all the time.

Everywhere I go I am asked "Do you watch that show John & Kate plus 8?" I do sometimes but what does that matter? She has sextuplets - I have triplets. They aren't the same thing. I'm not sure if they're asking because they're hoping that I watch to make myself feel better? It's their way of saying, "you don't have it so bad, someone has it worse then you" - trust me, I know. Lots of people have more kids then me, some of them even have 5 at the same time!

Yes, it may have been inappropriate for a doctor to put so many embryos in if indeed she did IVF and not IUI like I would suspect (I've NEVER heard of a doctor putting 8 embryos in a woman at one time especially someone as fertile as this woman apparantly is). But what frustrates me is that people are now saying it's unethical for her to have had more because she already has 6. Maybe this could be true due to her mental state but to say that a doctor should refuse treatment based on what someone already has is just unfair.

All five of my children were conceived using reproductive technologies (and the grace of God - ultimately He alone is the giver of life but I did seek a doctor for treatment). I have a medical disorder called polycystic ovarian syndrome which causes me not to ovulate, ever. So, I would be one angry woman to seek a doctor's help for more children only to find out he is refusing me treatment because I already have five. How would it be his/her place to tell me this? If I were a fertile woman who would tell me I couldn't have kids? I find it quite unequal to say a fertile woman can have 10 children but an infertile woman cannot.

There should be no denial of treatment based on what a woman already has. There should be responsible treatment BEFORE conception because selective reduction is murder and should not be an option. I couldn't imagine my life without one of my girls and if there had been more I would have kept them all. But I worked closely with my doctors to try and rule out high order multiples. By God's grace I have them and it was His plan that I do because none of my doctor's wanted me to have so many.

So, please when you think about this story don't lump all infertile women together. There are millions of responsible women out there who should not be un-done by one woman's mistake (if it is one - that's for her to decide herself and I pray her children are well taken care of as they grow). I am thrilled to have five kids and if the Lord allows I would have more but for now I am content with what I have been given. I would hate to be judged by my reproduction whether lack there of or in excess! How about you?

Just one woman's take...