Are God’s Gifts Returnable?

Michelle Duggar gave birth to her nineteenth child on Thursday. The premature baby was born at only one pound, six ounces and the mother is still recovering from the emergency c-section.

While we wish them both health, it begs the question, how many babies is too much?

Where I live, women are basically baby making machines. Husbands, who are allowed up to four wives, prefer to have one wife pregnant, one wife nursing, one wife to impregnate and a spare (so he doesn’t miss out on his jollies during the “unclean” time of the month).

As a result, women associate their worth as people with their ability to have children. I have spoken to doctors who complain that mother with four children ask for fertility treatments if they are unable to become pregnant after a year with their fifth. There is almost no space between pregnancies which does a lot of damage to the mother and the baby.

Many people believe that abstaining from sex during a fertile time of the month (let alone use of birth control) is like spitting in the face of God. For women who have been warned that another pregnancy will harm their health, or kill them, it is more like playing in traffic. Whether you live or die is in God’s hands, but it is never good to tempt fate.