^dnesday • December 3, 1997
O The Battalion
PINION
3aby BOOMers
r oopla, praise for McCaughey septuplets ignores reality of parents' decisions
line is money, as a mere
si
Kendall
Kelly
columnist
lx minutes produced a
. five-year supply of dia-
>, four boys, three girls, a
-year food supply and one
r house. The only thing
srica did not donate to the
Zaughey septuplets was a
tridge in a pear tree,
iow wonderful it is that cor
ations, families and even
government is in the spirit
iving this holiday season,
vunlbrtunate it is that be
en all the rejoicing over the Brady Bunch of the
eties, America has completely overlooked the real
le of the McCaughey family,
tether than celebrating the birth of Bobbi Mc-
ighey’s seven clones, America should be learning
n tliis family’s grave mistake by observing the bad
mple they are setting for future generations. Take
aylhe television news coverage and the number
ront page stories sprinkled across the nation and
ierneath is a poor, middle-class family who can
ely support the two-year old daughter they al-
dy have and has no business taking fertility pills
:hey can end up with more mouths to feed and
dies to clothe.
Irresponsible decisions such as this one only speak
he twisted view our country has regarding person-
esponsibility. Bobbi McCaughey personifies her
maturity and lack of thought by her decision to
e fertility pills.
She, like so many other women, fell into the
ne trap of bearing more children without the fi-
ncial support necessary to provide for them. A
ver-middle class family living in an apartment
eds fertility pills about as much as Texas A&M
eds another library.
Participating in such activities shows selfishness
d l|ack of thought in the development of one’s
ildjren. Of course any mother would love to have a
second child.
Usually women yearning to begin a family men
tion things such as, “I am ready to get pregnant be
cause I want a baby” or some other such hoopla
about how their maternal instincts have shifted into
high gear.
One moment women are longing for a baby and
nine months later, a family begins. What often
seems like a page out of a Berenstein Bears book
often turns into a disaster. Women wanting chil
dren too often think only of themselves and their
motherly cravings, forgetting what is in the best
interest of the child.
Women become so anxious to have children that
little thought is given to the possibility of waiting a
few years until a couple is financially more stable.
Such is the case with Bobbi, Kenny and now the
rest of the the McCaughey gang.
It is obvious that little thought was given to the fi
nancial standing of the family when McCaughey
decided to pop a few pills. It seems that in situations
like these, couples wanting a child think more with
their hearts than they do with their heads.
I find it very hypocritical that when issues such as
abortion arise, pro-life advocates practically set them
selves on fire, becoming so heated in claiming that
aborting a fetus “isn’t in the best interest of the child.”
Yet when a struggling family such as the Mc-
Caugheys take fertility pills knowing they will have
financial difficulties that will hinder proper child
rearing, the best interest of the child is forgotten.
Again, in all the press coverage and showering of
gifts, the best interest of these children has again
been forgotten.
America becomes so preoccupied with celebrat
ing over this “miracle,” we fail to see the real issue:
Bobbi McCaughey should never have taken fertility
pills to begin with. What she and her husband claim
is God’s will is really no more than a doctor’s pre
scription and a large dose of irresponsibility.
Kendall Kelly is a junior Spanish major.
Charity should not cease with births of McCaughey children
Jeremy
Valdez
columnist
T wo weeks
ago in Iowa,
Bobbi Mc-
Canghey didn’t
jusi give birth to
septuplets.
■She gave birth
to one of those
rare stories that is
very unusual , yet
wholesome and
palatable to the
mass audience.
■There was an exhausting birth, and
now dramatic medical treatments in the
nursery, and hopefully the heartwarm
ing introduction of seven healthy ba
bies into a loving home.
R Why, then, am I left feeling low about
this miniature baby boom? My initial
“Go team!” mentality has given way to a
flood of concerns about the actions of
both the parents and those of us who are
watching their every move. I am somber
because being one who both chronicles
and consumes the news, I search for a
larger context to place these events in.
The bigger picture, unfortunately, is
as full of superficiality and injust ice as it
is warmth and family values. These sev
en little ones are themselves innocent,
but the attention given them highlights
how unevenly and illogically we dole
out our compassion in this culture.
For some reason, one woman who
bore seven babies is getting more sym
pathy and support than the millions of
women who have single births.
Since the marathon delivery, the Mc-
Caugheys have been promised, among
other things, a new home, a van, a life
time supplies of diapers and baby formu
la, college scholarships for the children
and an audience with President Clinton.
An Iowa bank established an account for
the McCaugheys and has been receiving
donations from around the world.
Good for the McCaugheys. They have
a tough task ahead of them and they are
going to need all the help they can get.
Without the support they are getting, it
is doubtful they would be able to feed
the new litter.
What is unjust is the stigma so often
attached to other women who are un
able to support their new babies.
Whether they are minorities or under
privileged whites, many mothers are ac
cused of trying to “get rich on welfare”
are told that they should “get some birth
control.”
Media portrayals have cast the Mc
Caugheys as bystanders who suddenly
had seven kids dropped in their laps.
When reporters asked Bobbi McCaugh
ey what she felt when she learned that
she was canying seven fetuses, she
replied “sheer terror.”
“At first, it was like ‘God, why have you
done this to us?”’ McCaughey, 29, said.
It’s odd how she asked what had God
wrought when it was she who had been
swallowing daily doses of Metrodin, a fer
tility drug that often causes multiple births.
The drug had already helped them to
have Mikayla, their first daughter.
Indulging my need to wax religious,
it seems that God provided souls for the
kids that the McCaugheys went to ex
traordinary and only semi-natural
means to create.
Without going into the sticky moral
and philosophical issues surrounding
science-aided procreation, it is safe to
say that the McCaugheys had at least
some idea what they were getting
themselves into.
That should not discourage the spirit
of giving that has moved people to help
Bobbi and Kenny McCaughey, but it
should be hoped that some of that char
ity trickles down to the millions of
mothers and children who are not on
the cover of Time.
Certainly the average person cannot
send money to every impoverished fami
ly, and our current system of government
assistance is not particularly effective.
But the least we could do is make the
underprivileged targets for respect in
stead of insult. And at least some time
should be taken to consider the Thomp
son sextuplets. They were born almost
two years ago in Washington D.C.
For some reason, the black infants
failed to receive any attention, not even
a local presidential phone call.
The Thompsons were recently fea
tured in a CNN story about the possible
racial undercurrents that influence the
media’s coverage of multiple birth stories.
CNN reported that a small group of
D.C. residents has formed a support
foundation, but the story conspicuously
omitted the foundation’s address, even
though the McCaughey fund’s address
was prominently displayed.
The McCaugheys may have received
their attention because of their class,
their race or simply because there were
a few slow news days.
More than likely, a combinations of
factors was responsible.
No matter what catalyzed our na
tional sympathy for them, let’s recog
nize that there is room for improve
ment and consistency.
Jeremy Valdez is a senior chemical
engineering and journalism major.
'am
MIail Call
flale escort idea
aises questions
Wksponse to Chris Hujfines’ “Want-
i: Male Escort” Dec. 2 column:
pter reading Chris Huffines’ col-
Bi about male escorts, I was won-
Jring about a few things. It sounded
Ian elementary school boy who is
raid of the dark and still wets his
id was whining in this column.
Is a sophomore in the Corps of
idets, I have been running escorts
Iwo years and have never heard
a guy calling for an escort. How-
r er, if you really feel like you need
I escort, call the Guard Room and
II them you’re afraid of the dark
id I’m sure they will walk you to
>ur dorm and tuck you in bed.
■)n the other hand, you could just
: some homosexual who gets off
i the idea of a male escort. In that
w, I suggest you transfer to t.u.
n kure you wouldn’t have any trou-
6 finding a guy to walk you to your
om. After all “Steers and queers ...
i place but Texas.”
Zac Dietrich
Class of '00
via e-mail
Tasteless jokes
about safety offend
I hope few Aggies will give
creedance to Chris Huffines' col
umn in Tuesday’s Battalion, or at
least, realize that joking about safety
isn’t funny in real life.
According to the U.S. Bureau of
justice Statistics, available at:
http: / / www. feds tats, gov/ bj s / p ress. h
tm, men are two or three times more
likely to become victims of violent
crime, so let’s not encourage care
less behavior.
Huffines also jokes about “politi
cal correctness” in asserting equal
spending on services for males.
The conservative (right) end of
the political continuum also has a
political correctness or a party dog
ma which they like to employ in
their attempt to keep most people
from actually thinking.
The conservative or traditional
notion that “men” are indestructible
is probably just as harmful as the
left-wing dogma or politically cor
rect notion that all men are rapists
or abusers.
It may be true that Texas A&M is
a safe campus, but a bit of research
will show that male college students
are mugged, beaten and killed on
other campuses.
Let’s not encourage our male
students to be too reckless, Chris;
men and women need to be careful
out there. Again, A&M may seem
quite safe, but few Aggies will be
able to spend their whole lives here
in Aggieland.
Most of us, male and female,
can afford the time to start prac
ticing safe habits for the real
world or, at the very least, taking
safety seriously.
Michael Osterbuhr
Graduate student
via e-mail
Aggies not just
current students
My coworkers and I were looking
at The Battalion on-line as we are
former students and are very
pumped about Bonfire and the t.u.
game last Friday.
We were very upset to see the teaser
for the top story by Karie Fehler that
read “Texas A&M students’ ‘burning
desire to beat the hell outta t.u.’”
We have very strong ties to A&M
that go back to even before we
were students, and we were disap
pointed to note that current stu
dents are the only Aggies that have
a burning desire to beat the hell
outta t.u. (or that the Fightin’ Texas
Aggie Bonfire only represents the
current student body). We would
appreciate it if your staff would re
member that the former students of
this great University do a lot to keep
these traditions going.
Amy Fonville
Class of'96
Carol Anne Doherty
Class of'91
Tracy Williford
Class of'79
via e-mail
New tradition
promotes religion
The “new Texas A&M tradi
tion” of the Winter Spirit of Ag
gieland is geared to a limited
student population and even in
appropriate in its current form.
I am specifically referring to
the erection of Christmas trees on
campus as part of this “new tradi
tion”. We all know that Christmas
is a holiday for Christians, who
are the majority on this campus.
However, making Christmas
trees a part of this “Winter Spirit of
Aggieland” is promoting Christmas
to the whole campus and gives the
University a Christian face.
One may even argue that such
a display violates the separation
of church and state clause.
For many of us, Christmas has
no special meaning other than it
corresponds with the winter break.
In fact, some people may even
feel uncomfortable being a part
of a celebration which they do
not believe in.
So we need to consider our di
versity on campus when organiz
ing any program or activity
which is representative of the en
tire University.
The concept of “Winter Spirit”
in itself is fine, but we need to
avoid giving religious undertones
to the displays.
I. M. Latheef
Graduate Student
via e-mail
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