Breeders

Where is the unlimited supply of diapers, formula and baby wipes? The free van? The brand-new house?

Women who give birth to six, seven or eight babies are often showered with dazzling gifts from big corporations, local businesses and strangers. But that is not happening with the Southern California mother who delivered octuplets last week.

The news that she is a single mother with six other children — and that all 14 were conceived by having embryos implanted — seems to have turned off many people, and companies are not exactly rushing to get publicity by piling on the freebies.

Nadya Suleman, 33, has been lambasted by talk-show hosts, fertility experts, even her own mother, who has her hands full taking care of Suleman’s other children, ages 2 to 7…

Nobody is even kidding about the new house. More than one mega-birth family has received sponsorship, and I'd be surprised if Ms. Suleman isn't anticipating the same. Some company will step up to the plate with the line, "We can't take it out on the children." True enough, but perhaps someone should have thought about that several months ago.

Who thought about the risk to the fetuses? In multiple births, there are frequently health problems for the surviving children. Who finances the hospital bills, estimated to be roughly $160,000 per child (assuming no complications)? Where is the money for raising these children? Beyond the financial aspect, she has 14 children under the age of eight, so by the time the older kids are old enough to help out with the youngest, the youngest won't need their help with anything except homework.

What happened to the guidelines that are in place for situations like this? Maybe someone has seen Pirates of the Caribbean too many times. What was the implantation doctor thinking, other than how much publicity he would get? Why wasn't Ms. Suleman subject to the same scrutiny that a prospective adoptive parent would have been?