Even if it wasn't IVF, the process is (or should be) monitored. With IUF, they give you a sonogram to determine how many follicals are going to produce an egg before fertilizing. If that many eggs were going to be produced, a doctor could advise to skip that fertility cycle or not fertilize.

I have nothing against big families--I come from one. If a person wants 14 kids, have at it. But having 8 at once is dangerous for everyone and it's just a stupid thing to do.

I'll bring cookies, msbelle!

Even if it wasn't IVF, the process is (or should be) monitored.

No. Of course it should be monitored. But it is not uncommon at all that it isn't. In fact, it's extremely easy to get fertility meds online without a prescription at all and in fact, some of the fertility meds are also commonly used illegal steroids in the sports realm.

I guess, I don't assume that a US reproductive endocrinologist was involved at all.

And I guess I'm also done writing about this. As someone who went through almost half a decade of fertility treatments, I feel like I know some of this stuff authoritatively and I'm interested but it's too close to home. And as someone, at least through legal papers, who looks like a single mom who spent a long time in clinics and didn't have a particularly successful pregnancy possibly due to fertility treatment, I'm all too aware of how the parenting choices of myself and my friends, both here and elsewhere, could just as easily be attacked from people who don't know.

My grandma was one of 12. She was another Irish Catholic farmer's daughter born in 1900, so the fact that 11 of them made it into adulthood was quite a feat (one of her sisters died at age 12).

Apropos of pretty much nothing (well, except "Does that seem right to you?"): I only this year realized that Jubal Early was a real person.

He was the Confederate general in charge of invading Washington DC mid-war. His advance was too late in the day to be effective, though, as it was fought back by reserves who arrived in time to save the day. One of those Union reservists was Elisha Hunt Rhodes, prominently featured in the Ken Burns' documentary, and his diary entry for the day was rather pithy: "Early should have attacked early in the morning. Early was late."

some people really want a large family.

People want all kinds of things. When getting what they want will permanently affect the lives of at least 14 other human beings... I'm not sure their personal self-fulfillment should be the deciding factor.

And if it is, maybe my own self-fulfillment requires me to judge them as incredibly selfish.

People want all kinds of things. When getting what they want will permanently affect the lives of at least 14 other human beings... I'm not sure their personal self-fulfillment should be the deciding factor.

In all likelyhood she wasn't TRYING to have octuplets. "People want large families" was in response to "why would you want more when you already have six?".

And while wanting seven children isn't as common as not long ago, its not some sort of insanity.

FTR, there is no waxing in my plans.

I think wanting seven children under 7 years old is a little nuts. And I'm looking at Brangelina when I say that, too.

as if there was any question that AJolie was batshit crazy.

I'm in the McJudgey Judgeson corner on this one too. Common sense and personal responsibility are not always bad things.