A thought

A passing thought I just had:
You know the woman they're calling Octomom, the one who just had the octuplets and then it turned out she already had six children and the father's not involved and she lives with her parents and wasn't working because of physical problems....if you're not aware, she's been criticised right and left for pretty much every choice she made. Having kids without a spouse/partner, using fertility treatments, using fertility treatments repeatedly, continuing to have children without the means to support them, not "reducing" any of the babies when they found out she was pregnant with seven (the 8th was a surprise during delivery), burdening taxpayers with the children's birth, etc. etc. Most people think she is mentally disturbed, and that she is having children to fulfill her own disturbed needs.
Let's say she does have mental problems. (I don't know her, nor do the vast majority of the people and reporters commenting on this, so I don't know the real story.) People are angry and disgusted with her for having a mental problem, a disorder of some sort. Whatever happened to compassion? Didn't we used to feel sorry for people who need metal help? Most people's first reaction seems to be anger and criticism, and I think that's sad. Regardless of how it happened, she's in a very difficult situation. Taking care of eight babies at once could drive a perfectly sane person insane, even without six other kids (including a set of twins and a special needs child!). It just saddens me that the primary focus isn't on helping her poor children to survive and thrive, or even on getting the mother mental help if they truly believe that she needs it. If this sad situation was caused by this woman having a mental disorder that led to her poor choices, than we should feel pity for her, not disgust. Everyone seems to be thinking of themselves first and how they might be affected by her or women making similar choices-although this is a rare and unusual situation.

(I'll state right now that I haven't seen any of the videos of this woman interviewed. I've just read some of what she's said, and mainly editorials from various sources debating how bad this situation is. I just hate that people might take her highly unusual situation and use it to try to make choices about other people's fertility. I also find it disturbing that so many people think you can't possibly have enough love for more than a few kids! I can't imagine having children and not loving them! I think compassion for her children should be the primary focus. Just my opinions. )