Military and Octomom

Personally, I believe that reproduction rights should be open and women should be able to make their own decisions about their bodies. This, however, is a broad statement when reproduction aspects like military involvement and invetro fertilization comes into play.

Today we looked at two different arguments about womens' reproductive rights. On one hand, it was argued that they should receive special--or different--treatment from the military when pregnant or already have children. Conversely, we discussed how someone like Nadia Suleman probably should not be reproducing 14 times in her young and single life.

In keeping with my personal feeling about women's rights, I believe that military moms should take their personal and professional lives into consideration when enlisting. They have a unique and very different situation from most working mothers. For instance, a tax accountant would most likely be able to take a moderate amount of time off work post pregnancy, but a military mom might be expected to return to duty--and travel outside the country--very soon after giving birth. Where does the difference lie? In the job.

When enlisting in the military everyone should--like any other job--take children and the future into consideration. This, of course, seems idealistic, but is rather simple when you think about it. Those in the military (especially during times of war) must expect that they will be sent far away for long periods of time. Thus creating issues when pregnancy and parenthood are concerned.

We cannot, however, guarantee that everyone puts such thought into the future, so blanket laws should be enacted. Single parents should not be sent away. The risk of death and parent less children are too high in this situation. I'm not positive, but feel confident that numerous jobs are available that do not require relocation to a war zone. Such a law would allow single parents to enlist, but also be kept out of harms way professionally.

Suleman, the octomom, is another story altogether. She chose to--and delivered--14 children in her life. She is a jobless single mom with no realistic plan for how to care for her children. Multiple interviews have produced conflicting stories and blatant lies from her...and has left all of us wondering why she felt it necessary to have so many kids.

I could go into overpopulation or tax payers, but the underlying problem with Suleman seems to be her mental health. Should her doctor have allowed 6 potential babies to be implanted in her? According to me, the answer is no. But, she could have found another doctor willing to perform the surgery.