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Nadya's Octuplet Binge

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Giving her first paid interview with NBC’s Ann Curry, 33-year-old single octuplet-producing mom Nadya Suleman defended her right to as many babies as she pleased. Reactions to the single mom have ranged from joy to outrage, wondering how she’ll pay the freight, without going on the dole. Suleman was all ready an unwed mother of six, children, ranging from two to seven years, living with her parents in Whittier, Calif. “I didn’t intend to be unconventional, it just turned out to be,” Nadya told Curry, referring to the In Vitro Fertilization procedure, requiring her fertility doctor to implant at least six embryos. While her doctor remained nameless, the California Medical Board busily looked into ethical and professional practice issues. “We’re looking into the matter to see if we can substantiate any violation of the standard-of care,” said Medical Board spokeswoman Candis Cohen.

Suleman’s story represents a hot property for the post-election lull looking for a spicy story. “I wanted to be a mom. That is all I’ve ever wanted in my life,” said Nadya, appealing to certain pro-life groups, diverting attention away from the colossal questionable judgment of both she and her fertility doctor. “The revelation about one center treating her makes the treatment even hard to understand,” said Arthur Caplan, bioethics Chairman at the University of Pennsylvania. Caplan echoes the California Medical Board, trying to ascertain the logic behind one of its licensees helping the disabled mother of six add another eight offspring. “They went ahead when she had six kids, know that she was a single mom,” questioning the judgment of Nadya’s doctor. Regardless of the “standard of care,” physicians bear ethical and legal responsibilities for their medical procedures.

Suleman’s case poses ethical and legal issues for fertility doctors, asked and paid by patients to perform medical procedures. “Who am I to say that six is the limit,” said Dr. Jeffrey Steinberg, medical director of Family Institutes, owning fertility clinics in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York City. Unlike Caplan, Steinberg believes physicians shouldn’t second-guess patients’ requests, no matter how off-the-wall. “All I want was children. I wanted to be a mom. That’s all I ever wanted in my life,” Suleman told NBC’s Curry. “I love my children,” demonstrating the kind of obsession and one-sided focus leaving her with 14 children, without the resources to care for them. Public records indicate the Suleman complained of depression and possibly suicidal thoughts after the birth of her first child in 1999. She showed no appreciation for consequences to her actions.

Doctors routinely evaluate or assess of patients seeking controversial procedures, including fertility treatments, weight procedures and various kinds of plastic surgery. Patients don’t always have the judgment to know when it’s best to avoid certain types of medical procedures. When physicians allow zealotry or greed to eclipse medical judgment, endangering both patients and profession at large, medical boards are forced to intervene. No one knows the logic behind Nadya’s fertility specialist, implanting multiple embryos without regard to her mental status, medical safety or economic circumstances. While Nadya’s octuplets survived the premature birth process so far, no one knows the potential long-term complications, including higher chances of autism, attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities and a host of other developmental anomalies.

Based on press reports, it’s unclear how Nadya financed her past IVF procedures, averaging around $10,000 a procedure. State documents indicate Suleman was first pregnant in 1999 shortly after sustaining a back injury while employed at Metropolitan State Mental Hospital. Public records released to the Associated Press also indicate that Suleman collected $165,000 in disability payments between 2002-2008, accounting for how she might have afforded the costly procedures. Her unnamed fertility specialist is currently under investigation by the California Medical Board. “When you have history of miscarriages, you think it will take a miracle,” Nadya told Worker Compensation Psychologist Dr. Dennis Nehamen. “I just wanted to die. I suspected I was pregnant but I thought, ‘that’s ridiculous,’” giving some insight into her mental state at the time of her disability evaluation. Apart from the tabloid fascination with multiple births, Nadya’s case raises some pressing questions for medical specialists. California’s Medical Board seeks to ascertain whether a licensee operated “beneath the standard-of-care,” warranting disciplinary action. Standard of care issues usually relate to botched medical procedures and their adverse consequences. Nadya’s fertility doctor performed brilliantly, successfully implanting her frozen embryos. By all accounts, Kaiser Permanente’s Dr. Mandhir Gupta and his team of neonatologists also exceeded all medical expectations. “I don’t think it’s our job to tell them how many babies they’re allowed to have. I am not a policeman for reproduction in the United States. My role is to educate patients,” said New York University obstetrics professor Dr. James Grifo. Until then, everyone waits to hear from Nadya’s doctor.

J ohn M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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