We're fascinated by "multiples"—even identical twins draw attention, never mind those incomprehensible sets of six or eight babies. Web sites and reality TV shows chronicle the ordinary, yet extraordinary lives of families with quintuplets, sextuplets and septuplets. And while there's some debate over whether these modern multiples are over-exposed, a half century ago, these children were sometimes blatantly exploited for their novelty. In the 1940's, the famed Dionne quintuplets were displayed in an attraction called "Quintland" in Canada for years.
Due to fertility treatments, multiple births have grown more prevalent and new ethical issues have emerged. For "high order" multiples—quadruplets or more—the risk to the babies of brain damage, cerebral palsy and death rise with each additional fetus. And the mothers are vulnerable to life-threatening conditions as well.
But the decision to selectively reduce, or terminate some embryos when more than expected take hold, is also fraught. This controversy heated up again on Jan. 26, 2009, when octuplets were born to 33-year-old Nadya Suleman, a single mother in southern California who already had six children, all conceived with the help of fertility treatments. Since their birth, the octuplet babies and their mother, now dubbed "Octomom" have been under almost-constant media scrutiny. If history is any guide, the Suleman octuplets will join a long line of multiples who've grown up in the spotlight.
