Unlikely Singapore Will Have Any Octuplets...

The world cheered when it heard of a mother in California giving birth permaturely to a set of octuplets on Jan 26. However, soon enough, when the circumstances leading to the birth leaked, the cheers turned to outrage.

The mother, Nadya Suleman, aged 33, is a single mother who already has 6 children. With these 8 babies added to her brood, she will raise single-handedly 14 children. And note this: all 14 children are borne out of infertility treatments or more commonly known in this part of the world as assisted reproduction.

There have been many questions asked on moral grounds alone. In the latest revelation, Nadya Suleman claims that she loves babies and has so many of them to fulfil her childhood dream and to lift her from depression. Well, I think that this is not a good enough reason. It smacks self-centeredness and immaturity. Did she even think about the lives her children will likely lead? In fact, if I were to go further, I would recommend that she undergo a psychiatric check to make sure she is not of unsound mind. Depression is a clinical disease which could lead to awkward and awful situations.

This single mother has been living on disability payments totalling US$165K over the past 6 years. Okay, she has a rightful claim to the disability payments (due to pain in the lower back that arose from the workplace) but the point is that financially, she will find it a struggle to bring up 14 children. It sure does not seem a responsible decision to voluntarily go for "infertility" treatments under such circumstances.

Nadya's own mother says Nadya is a really nice girl if you get to know her and wonders aloud why the media and the public are hounding her daughter. Well, Mrs Suleman, your daughter may be a nice girl but her actions are outrageous.

The doctors have a role to play in this too... what are they trying to prove?

BUT my main frustration is how the US government could have allowed this to happen.

Because the US believe in non-discrimination (sometimes to ridiculous extremes), in individual rights and in non-interference of personal choices, the US government did not issue firm guidelines on these procedures. Thus, there are few checks on who can undergo such infertility treatments to ensure that the rights of the babies are protected.

In Singapore, the rules are clear. The mother must be married and under 45, consent from the husband is required, and a maximum of 3 embryos can be placed in the woman's womb. In the co-funding arrangement, the government will pay S$3k and the rest will be footed by the individual.

These rules sound fair. There may be some shouts from the singles camp but I would say if you want to have babies, go get married or opt for adoption.

I agree with the rules because it shows a responsible government who, not only makes sure that the state's money is used with good justification, but more importantly, provides a check to ensure that all those who seek to become parents are responsible folks.

The US government should learn the expensive lesson of over-deregulation. We know what happened in the financial markets. The government's hand is still necessary in many areas, not to dogmatically control, but to ensure that the rules are there so that good people can continue to live freely, safely, harmoniously and productively for the good of all. Let Nadya's case be the warning bell.