The physicians in California grin, they rejoice, proud of their sensational achievement: octuplets. Wow! Great work! We had new medical heroes for an entire morning. The world was touched: Oh, how cute – eight sweet babies! Cute? Anyone who has ever seen a 25-ounce preemie in an incubator doesn’t automatically think in terms of such child-like characteristics. Little things like that aren’t cute by any stretch of the imagination, and there are good reasons why: they lack five to six pounds of weight and their internal organs weren’t given sufficient time to develop properly. They probably won’t have an easy time of it.
Of course now that they’re here, the world wishes them all the best; that they’ll develop normally and be healthy. The fact that gynecologists over here turn their noses up at the medical miracle in Los Angeles has nothing to do with German grumpiness. If a physician is responsible for this multiple pregnancy and not the parents alone, then there’s no reason for celebration. The doctor shouldn’t be proud, he should be ashamed of what he did.
Just because something is possible doesn’t mean it must – or even should – be done.
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