Michelle Duggar is Pregnant!

What happened with Josie was a freak thing, and had little to do with the number of children they had. Michelle had severe preeclampsia which did not respond to medication. Out of all her pregnancies she has had preeclampsia twice, with her second and with her seventeenth pregnancy. Is she at increased risk because she's had preeclampsia before? Yes. But two pregnancies out of 17 where she had it is not a huge percentage, and the other pregnancy did not result in micropreemies because the preeclampsia responded to medication. She is taking care of herself and the family says she's in better health than she has been in a decade. Her doctor saw no reason for her to avoid pregnancy.

I do not believe anyone should make anyone else get sterilized. Her pregnancies are not "becoming high risk"; she's had one problem pregnancy.

Seeing as some of her older girls are in their late teens and early 20s, they could be racing away from the family already if they want to. They're adults. They haven't gotten interviews with reporters independently to say how awful their childhoods were, and they haven't rebelled, and they have even stayed at home. Maybe they actually love their family and lifestyle.

The Duggars are married, they support themselves, they love their family. Why should the government be involved in their family planning decisions? Does anyone else want the government involved in theirs? If welfare recipients on drugs with children in the custody of the state aren't forcibly sterilized (and I don't think they should be either), then why should we be talking about sterilizing a married woman supported by her husband who takes care of her children with the help of her family?

I think it is ridiculous that all sorts of alternative lifestyles are tolerated and even celebrated, but a family who chooses to have lots of children is a freak show. I know lots of families where older children help with little ones, and usually it's because they want to do it. My friend had her sixth and has 4 older daughters; she said it was weeks before she had to change a diaper because they were fighting over who got to do it. Kids of all ages love babies. My kids are thrilled they're getting a baby. It's adults who forget how miraculous it all is.