Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Michelle Duggar almost died while having her last and 19th baby, Josie, who was born at just 25 weeks old and spent four months in the NICU. Michelle and her husband Jim-Bob have been open about the fact that they want more children, that they think “God” gives them children, and that they’re trying for more. There was even a story in The Enquirer that Michelle would “die” for another baby, if that’s what God wanted.
Now Michelle is pregnant again, and she just announced it on the Today Show. She’s super excited about it, of course, and doesn’t seem concerned at all about the medical risks:
Eight isn’t enough — and apparently neither was 19.
Michelle Duggar and her husband Jim Bob made the surprising announcement Tuesday that they are expecting their 20th child.
“We are so excited,” Michelle Duggar told the Today show in an exclusive interview.
Michelle — who’s three and a half months pregnant — says she was surprised to discover that she’s expecting again at 45. “I was not thinking that God would give us another one, and we are just so grateful.”
Michelle says she’s over her first-trimester morning sickness and has been craving dill pickles. She says she hasn’t had any health issues and that she’s been working out five or six days a week for the past year. “I’m really in better shape than I’ve been in 20 years,” she said.
The kids thought their dad Jim Bob was joking when he told them they would have a new brother or sister, Michelle said. They lined the family up on the staircase for a photo, she recalled, and Jim Bob said, “Smile — Mom’s going to have another baby!”
“Their mouths dropped,” Michelle said. “They all looked at me to see if he was joking.”
Jim Bob says he’s thrilled for their 20th child. “Michelle and I both feel like some of the most blessed parents in the world. Our children are so sweet… we are so grateful to God.”
And, he adds, “We didn’t want to stop on an odd number.”
Watch the video on RadarOnline.com
Michelle says she’ll find out the gender of the baby around Christmas.
Their last child, Josie, suffered from gall-bladder problems as well as preeclampsia and was delivered three and a half months prematurely in order to save her life. (Josie is now a healthy toddler who will celebrate her second birthday in December.)
The Duggars’ 19 children, who range in age from 23 years to 23 months, are: Joshua, Jana, John-David, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn-Grace, Josie.
[From Radar]
This bothered me so much. Michelle and Jim-Bob aren’t taking care of all those kids, their other kids are. This pregnancy is extremely risky for her given the complications she had with her last pregnancy and the fact that she’s 45. She doesn’t seem to mind, though, she’s having another baby and that’s what’s give her life meaning. I hope she’s ok and that the baby is ok, but I also hope that she goes through menopause very soon after the birth.
OMFG!!!!!! Stop already!!!
As one of my friends just so eloquently put it (I have a fb status update about this), “I’m pretty sure they just fall right out at this point anyway.”
I swear, I pee just from sneezing and I’ve only got the 1 child (and 1 on the way). There is NO way that woman doesn’t pee herself all day.
Holy Fucking Shit. Really? I mean what? I can’t even think of a semi-diplomatic thing to comment, it’s all bad and crass and just WTF?
I have mixed emotions about this… but they love their children, their children are respectful, hardworking, dilligent young people. None of them will end up like Lindsay Lohan. They have values – albiet values I might not agree with entirely, but still – I hope the pregnancy and birth go smoothly. I would never wish a premature birth, or complications on anyone.
crackhead, religious fanatics. God also gave us the ability to think for ourselves instead of just taking his “word” in the Bible… you guys should try it sometime.
Maybe she only likes newborns and can’t cope when they get older…..
This is just insane. Her poor uterus!
You can’t break through to these people especially since both of them are drinking the koolaid. I’ve spoken in comments before about how my family is large and it took complications during my little brothers birth for my mom to finally say no more. In our situation my mother put her foot down. In the Duggars situation I don’t see that happening because Michelle seems brainwashed to the max; even after the continued complications with their daughter.
If something happens to her or the child they’ll just say it’s Gods will. If Michelle died Jim Bob would find another younger wife and start popping out more kids. I just hope that the kids have more common sense and not follow in their parents foot-steps.
she sneezes and drops a kid
These people make me sick. Her last one was severly premature and both could have died. THAT was a message from God you nutso! STOP!!!!!!!!
This is disgusting. Their other kids don’t get one on one attention from their parents. The older ones can’t have their own lives because they are the caretakers. I’m sorry, but I find this selfish and I’m no doctor, but isnt it extremely unhealthy for a woman to keep birthing so many children? The doctors should tie her tubes and not tell her.
I don’t feel good making judgey judgements about other women’s reproductive choices, but this is just bizarre and it would appear that the first child is all about having a child army as well- basically they’re simply creating their own cultish utopia.
These people are assholes. I honestly cannot bring myself to state that in a more eloquent way. Of course they are willing to have another kid–as stated above it is not like THEY are taking care of the new kids–their older ones are doing all the work.
Also–I work full time and have ONE toddler and I just cannot find the time to work out. (I am working on it–but it is looking like the only way is to do it at 5:00am and I am the polar opposite of a “morning person” so it is not easy) To read that a mom of NINETEEN “has been working out five or six days a week for the past year” makes me want to scream. Not only does she NOT care for all the kids she is having–she also has the time to workout 5-6 times a week?
Shit!!! Come on now! Well, whatever-I guess she doesn’t care about bringing another possibly disabled child into the world. I don’t think it would be a bad thing faith wise to impart some God-given common sense!
I’ve read a few articles regarding a mental disorder where women are addicted to being pregnant.Michelle Duggar seems the type.
BARF.
Scary. Please stop.
God also gave you free will. Now USE it!
Don’t understand why everyone gets so bent out of shape about this. Do they ask you to help support them or ask you to help take care of them? They have a tv show and I can guarantee you that no one has to watch if they don’t want to. It is really none of our business how many kids anyone has as long as we are not the people supporting them.
She’s the healthiest she’s been in 20 years because she gave her body a break from dropping babies. For cryin out loud…
They have a kid named Joy-Anna and a kid named Johanna? Wow. Talk about having no identity and being lost in the crowd. These people suck.
@ Original Me – Yep, as soon as the baby is weaned and/or she gets pregnant again, the littlest is “buddied” with another older child. She takes care of the babies super-well, so it seems, but the older kids are raising them when they hit toddlerhood. It is really disgusting.
I think Michelle might have a mental breakdown of sorts when she hits menopause. She just cannot seem to exist without procreation. :/
I think they love the publicity now and all the attention.
I love big families.. they could adopt and give kids that are here a home with lots of love.
I won’t comment about them again or watch.
@Samigirl – I pee a little when I sneeze now, and I’ve never even had ONE kid! I can’t even imagine!!!
If you don’t believe in BC, that’s fine, but don’t have sex then. Don’t bring a child into this world out of selfishness with high risks.
I really hope this baby does not end up with Downs or some other health problems. It is not fair to the unborn child that her parents are stupid enough to keep having kids. She NEEDS menopause. While all of their kids seem really nice and respectful, I feel so bad for them because they have no lives. They were bred to raise their younger siblings. I wonder how many of them will rebel from this lifestyle.
“We didn’t want to stop on a odd number”. Pretty much says it.
I really hope that this shuts up their apologists, because they’ve obviously obviously turned procreation into a full-time career. As if human bio-engineering HAS nothing to do with it.
At what point will this woman’s uterus drop out and run away screaming???
Un.effing.real.
@crys 737 – I agree, I’ve always thought that. She doesn’t really raise them day to day, her older kids do that, so she very well may have that mental condition.
A vagina is not a clown car!
Quiverfull religious fanatics.
Another kid to keep that TLC gravy train going. I don’t care how well-mannered the kids are, that doesn’t mean the Duggars are great people. They follow that Gothard child-raising method, too.
Let’s hope this kid isn’t months premature and sick like the last one.
So much freaking out over one woman’s personal choices that we do not pay for or are involved with.
Must be pretty scary – this willing motherhood.
weird.
Mental problems and religion are a bad mix, but it’s worth a lot of money to TLC and the Duggars.
They exploit their older children–particularly the older daughters–in order to be reality TV show stars. There is nothing charming, family-friendly, faith-positive, or happy about them. Unless you have really sat down and studied and read the kind of theology they believe in (and that they claim as the motivation for having so many kids)–a theology characterized by outright misogyny and intolerance–then please don’t say naive things about the great way they care for their kids, or the loving example they provide.
You posters are just a big, old bunch of meanies! Leave the poor Duggars alone…Don’t you heathens know that it is God’s sacred mission for them to f*ck like bunnies and populate the Earth with their superior genes?
Besides, like Jim Bob pointed out, they couldn’t stop making babies UNTIL THEY HAD AN EVEN NUMBER…It would be illogical, unethical, and irresponsible, right? Even numbers rock!
We should all be grateful that this astute and humble stud has spread his seed so tirelessly and generously! Jim Bob is a true dreamboat, and Michelle is so lucky to be the always-smiling, ever-willing vessel for his J-named spawn…
Are they running a factory? Seriously….stop. Overpopulation is real.
Her bladder (and other insides) must be in tatters…
I think the reaction of the children says it best. It wasn’t, “The kids were ecstatic!” or happy or anything. Just shocked. Poor things. Seriously, these people are so damn delusional it’s disturbing. Why do we even give them an outlet to announce that the baby factory is still in service?
How about we update that 1988 hair style?
Those people make me sick.
I have a close relative who had nine kids. When each child was a baby, she would be very attentive and affectionate. As each child aged past the point of baby cuteness (by about 2), her interest in their well-being would wane. This cycle repeated with each successive birth.
Her children range in age from 10-25 now. None of them are criminals, but if you spend any time really talking with them to the point where they trust you, you can hear that they’re in a lot of pain from the lack of consistent love and attention from their mother. At this point, she cannot carry a pregnancy because of health issues, so she has extended the amount of attention she shows her youngest two children, but it does not reach the level that a child needs from a parent. She seems to resent the fact that they have needs and expect her to fulfill them.
I don’t know the Duggars and so I can’t say that their situation mimics my relative’s, but I’m a mother to two boys. My oldest is dyslexic and requires a bit more attention for help with homework, etc. I can’t imagine what it would take to be able to provide the appropriate level of attention and affection that a set of 20 kids will need to grow up feeling loved and worthy of love and respect.
My family has spent a great deal of time and money trying to supplement for what my relative does not provide for her kids. But, it’s never enough. There’s no amount of caring that others can really provide to a child to make up for what they do not get from the person who gives birth to them.
I’m not just trying to lay this at the feet of only the mother, but she has the power to say no more.
Religious extremists scare me.
If there was a god, I doubt s/he’d care one way or the other about giving them kids, because s/he’d be busy with the real important things, like stopping wars, famines, pollution and ecological disasters and overpopulation.
filterfreejenny – awesome comment – I’m gonna be giggling about that one all day 😀
At least she’s not KHate Effing Gosselin
@ Bermuda Blues
I believe they love their children but it’s too soon to say what the effects are from this.
“God” gives them kids, but SCIENCE AND DOCTORS kept the kid (and mother) alive last time around.
I don’t mind people being religious, but discounting scientific or medical assistance, except when you need it, screams “HYPOCRISY”.
Michelle and Jim Bob aren’t watching the kids at this point it’s the older kids. There are reasons why people who have umpteen million kids find it so easy once their older children are in their mid to late teens.
I pretty much avoid my family at this point because due to my older siblings taking care of me the majority of the time they still expect me to cater to them as if you would your parent even though I’m in my 30s. I didn’t ask for 15 parents when I only needed 2.
He was an elected official (House of Representatives, I think). So we are on the hook for the whole family’s medical care. Your tax dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen!
I swear, elected people should have no pensions (only a 401K) and have either Medicare or VA benefits. I bet we’d actually have a much better health care system if we just held our government officials to the same standards as we do our neighbors.
OR the father needs a vasectomy…
This family makes me sick. Jim Bob is just so creepy I bet anything there will be some scandal with him down the line.
I dont believe she has babies b/c she genuinely likes to have that many kids, I think she’s truly addicted to the attention that comes from being pregnant. Once she births them, she’s done. The other kids raise them. That’s not a good mother in my opinion. I dont think she has any other “identity’ aside from being pregnant.
A lot of hate piled on the Duggars, what about TLC?
That is a network chock full of scum sucking weasels who have no problem stupefying the US public with this kind of crap. Making money from this family’s delusion.
You know that if there were no cameras these people would have stopped a long time ago. Jim-Bob knows they need to keep spitting them out to have a TV show.
TLC is the real problem here.
Michelle Duggar says that she is “willing to die” for more children, and I think that is one of the most selfish things I have EVER heard. She is “willing to die” but what about her child? What are the chances of a healthy, viable baby? And if she does, indeed, die (unlikely) she is leaving a helpless infant. Not to mention orphaning her other children who need a mother. Yes, bearing a child is a huge deal, but it is only the beginning of motherhood. A mother, a parent, is there for the child EVERY DAY for the rest of his/her life.
What in the hell did I just read?!?!?!
You cannot have it both ways: Wanting women to have the right to reproduce as they wish and wanting to have the right to condemn a woman for choosing to reproduce as she wishes.
It is our business how many kids they have. We all live in the same.world with its limited resources. Are.they going to live on a commune, grow their own food, produce their own water, provide medical care for their children and hundreds of their progeny? There is no endlessly bountiful Duggarland. This is the same world where thousands of children die every day from lack of resources.
I agree with Strawberry Girl. There is no way in the world these children count (except in number) to these “parents.” They’re excess bits of protoplasm to add to these people’s distorted sense of human reality and what human life is about. They need to have their heads examined!
I didn’t think it was physically possible to have that many children. Sick.
Yea I’m all about a women’s right to choose, so this is a tough one for me. It can’t be one or another. I am however going to judge the heck out of her husband for doing this (he’s a part of this to don’t forget)
That all said, she and her most recent baby both nearly died the last time and I would have thought that would have been a big wake up call. Here’s to hoping for a healthy delivery. Amazing what science can get you with high-risk specialists and great natal care eh? *eyeroll* What a great family to receive free health care-way to put it to good use *eye roll again*
Not surprised at all about this – Jim Bob will keeping tapping that until it’s all tapped out – the ability to produce children is the ultimate male ego boner for their brand of religion. She has no say in the matter. I just hope that she goes into menopause soon….and she gets a new hair style.
I like how these people choose to believe that God gives them babies and therefore they keep having more, but choose to ignore that maybe God was sending them a message with the last baby that it’s time to stop. After all, she would never have survived without modern scientific medical intervention. If left up to God alone, she would have died. Where was their faith in God then? They knew better. They knew that while it’s okay to be religious and believe in God you need to be sensible enough to use modern science when called for…so maybe they should be sensible and use contraception.
It’s incredibly selfish, imo, that they keep having more babies and especially when there is such a health risk to both the baby and the mother! What would happen to all those kids if Michelle died giving birth? It’s fine to say she’s prepared to die to give birth again but does she not think about what her other children would feel? What they would have to deal with emotionally if she died? Yes, I know their big sisters raise them mostly, but she is their mom.
They just seem to take it soooo lightly and it really makes me angry. It’s okay to deny science in all kinds of things and to excuse constantly having more children by saying it’s all in God’s hands …but suddenly it’s not in God’s hands when there’s a medical emergency. Then they are happy to utilize all the science out there. Talk about having it both ways.
I won’t even get into how incredibly irresponsible it is for the environment in an already over-crowded world.
Can they not, at this point in their lives say: the serious health issues with Josie and Michelle was a sign to stop having more children and to enjoy the ones you have, enjoy being a grandparents and let your children be the ones who are the center of attention now! Aren’t they enough? Don’t they deserve some real attention and time from their parents which I hope they would get more of as the older kids leave and Michele and Jim-bob are left having to actually be a full-time parent to the younger kids that are left?
If I was one of their kids I would be really angry and hurt. Angry if I was an older daughter knowing I’d have another little one to have to be responsible for and hurt if I was a younger child because they barely get any attention from Michele now, much less with another new baby thrown in the mix.
Very well-said.
@samigirl and amy, hell I pee when I laugh hard and I’ve haven’t popped one yet.
It used to be this easy before pills and other contraptions came around; it isnt that far fetched considering that is the whole purpose and function of having sex. The only thing I can admire is that they appear to be happy and they believe they have a strong family- which a lot of people with any number of kids or none at all, dont have. Theyve got their solid beliefs and are strengthened in each other– so, there is a bit of jealousy about that part from me 😉 It also shows how damn versatile and capable a woman’s body is- this is so much mroe than a man’s body will ever go through. Respect. (for women as a whole)
Maybe Jim-Bob keeps wanting to have more and more kids to prove to the world and himself that he’s straight. If I found out he was having urges for other men I would not be surprised. Can you say over-compensation? Something about him creeps me out. He seems so phoney to me.
I also don’t like how they completely control everything in their childrens’ lives. They aren’t allowed exposure to anything that doesn’t agree with their religious beliefs…not even wonderful books and movies, classics. Might give them ideas. What are they so scared of? Like the girls needs to wear swim suits that so completely cover them …is Jim=Bob so scared he might get excited if he sees them in a regular one piece? What are they so afraid of?
I don’t think they are truly preparing their children for the real world…they are preparing them for a place in the religious world they live in. Those kids don’t honestly have true choices for careers and universities, especially not the girls. Everything revolves around their religion and there is no true choice or even exposure to anything else.
Bitch needs to be put out to pasture already!
None of them will end up like Lindsay Lohan.<< Famous last words. Most large families I’ve known (including very religious families with two parents) has one addict who suffers everything addicts do including contracting disease(s) and/or developing chronic illnesses due to their addiction(s), developing other addictions, and other compulsive dangerous behaviors. Lindsey Lohan is a particularly hated addict because she’s privileged in the extreme, but ultimately any addict in her shoes would look about same. Most of the Duggar kids are still minors, and all are young adults. So it is way premature to say “none of them will end up like….” …anything. Doesn’t mean a person can’t recover though, whatever personal hell they may go through. I’m sure some of the kids have personalities that can and do thrive in a huge family. But I feel sad for the other Duggar kids for whom that is not the case. Because their parents’ beliefs has big consequences for their kids but nothing to do with any of them as individuals. Some personalities will resent that.
So ladies when do we start campaigning for a new law to restrict the number of children a woman can have?, (and what number of children should we decide on 1, 4, 6, 10?).
This is insane. She should have stopped at 19, and had her tubes tied.
Hell, I only have one kid, and I have my tubes tied and Mr Unbeweavable has a vasectomy. I almost died when I was in labor and delivery with Lil Unbeweavable. And I had a pregnancy from hell. I knew it wasn’t in my body’s best interest to reproduce more than once. Michelle needs to open her eye (and close her legs) and realize that this child may possibly kill her.
Oh blah blah blah. 1) I am sure there kids are more respectful than yours 2)I am sure they dont expect handouts 3)They shop at places like ALDIS 4) they get used clothes to start with and pass them down 5) they have rental properties and have started their own business’s 6) they do LOTS of charitable work and travel to help others in need. And these people are bad? Do they write publically about you and your kids, do they judge you or say a bad thing about anyone? Maybe it is US who should look more at the way they lead their lives instead of all of us continuing to live the way we do, because I am sure they are better than most on this site speaking no nasty about them.
I am not pro-Dugger, or anti-choice but I wonder: if she had an abortion and terminated the life of the baby, we would say it was her choice and her business. But if she chooses to have the baby (and I admit that 20 is bonkers) people feel they have the right to make graphic disparaging remarks about the state of her vagina. Does that seem a bit skewed to you? Either you have a right to choice or you don’t. And surely that means the choice TO HAVE BABIES AND AS MANY AS YOU WANT. If you so choose.
i come from a large family of 8 children. My parents are one of 12 and one of 7. from my experience, it is tremendously difficult, if not impossible, for 2 people to adequately care for a large number of children. the kids suffer in the long run.
She’d die for another baby? How about living for the ones you already have?
Ugh. These people piss me off.
absolutly disgusting.. Make her stop please.for those of you saying it’s her right & her body.. No 1 is disputing that.. But the world’s population just reached 7 billion.. It’s not just about you any more.. Their grand kids & great grand kids will suffer the effects of a world that is over populated..think of that!
At this point, it’s obvious to me they’re doing it for ratings. The doctor who helped them conceive should lose his license.
WTF, did Michelle Dugger get knocked up by the Biebs as well. Come on woman, how many kids do you wanna have before you put a cork on it, the world population is alread into the billions.
“They all looked at me to see if he was joking.”
Yeah, because they want a normal life and not take care of their brothers and sisters? Maybe, no?
Aaaaand:
“We didn’t want to stop on an odd number”
I say that too…when I’m eating a donut. Can’t stop at one now can we =)? But holy crap, talking about a human life like that!? How ignorant. What a “je m’en fou” attitude. Reason enough to slip anticonception pills in her drinks…
Ugh, my womb and head hurt just by reading that article…
Truly two of the most selfish parents on planet earth. They disgust me.
This is ecologically irresponsible. Imagine if every single one of their kids had 20 kids and their kids did the same…and so on. Michelle and Jim-Bob would have 400 grandkids! It would take only 3 generations for their descendents to take up an entire state!
Fortunately, it won’t happen. Families that large always have half of the kids turn out crazy. I hope those kids don’t suffer but it seems inevitable.
This shit makes me sick. The planet is overcrowded with 7 BILLION human people and these Jesus freaks think they’re justifying their behavior on religious grounds. Octomom has nothing on this idiot woman in the crazy department, she sounds seriously mentally unbalanced.
I agree with 10, 11, and 57. These people are NOT in touch with reality or their other children.
LadyJane-spot on. Its cooler to rag on another woman how her reproductive rights are out of vogue. its her body let her deal with it. I dont go around telling every preggo woman I meet to get an abortion because of overpopulation. Jeez.
I bet this isn’t the last pregnancy for them. She is clearly very fertile, and women can get pregnant right up till the end of menopause, which in the US averages around age 51, I think. But pregnancies in your 40’s really are higher risk. I imagine she will have another child or two and who knows how many more lost pregnancies.
Wow, I can’t believe the amount of hatred heaped on this family. Though I would never personally choose to have twenty children. I would never pass judgement on people that do, as long as they aren’t expecting me to pay for them. I pray for their families sake that this pregnancy/delivery goes well and that both mother and child are healthy. I’m also hoping as another poster said, that menopause comes soon.
They don’t raise their children, their other children do.
They don’t pay for their kids, other people do, including us.
Knowingly threatening your own life and the life of the child you carry is spitting into the face of God, if you follow an Abrahamic religion, which they do.
The US population has doubled since 1965. The Duggars carbon footprint must be horrible.
The loving thing to do would be to adopt children.
I loathe loathe loathe these “Quiverful” people, including people like Rusty Yates.
They do seem to love the children, but I would have a LOT more respect for them if the had adopted or fostered some children.
When is a good foster/adoptive family going to get a reality show?
If Michelle Duggar was a dog, she would be a puppy mill. I’m serious. This is neither healthy nor normal behavior for ANY mammal.
I cosign all the comments about how creepy Jim-bob is. That oldest son of theirs is just as creepy too.
@Pamela – You forgot to add that she also has time to take daily naps. So this creature has 19 kids and works out and takes naps. Must be nice to put your feet up all day and do nothing. Since your kids are your slaves and will raise your spawn for you. I bet the hubby wants the wife do die so he can get a younger model. I wouldn’t put it past him. He has that evil eye look to me.
It’s irresponsible, in a world where overpopulation is our biggest downfall. They make me sick.
OK enough is enough i guess.. the entire world got your message now.. smh
It’s a personal choice that I wouldn’t make, but that doesn’t matter to the Duggars. They are led by their beliefs and ready to face whatever consequence comes their way. It is nice to see a family that holds true to their faith and values when some other TV families (i.e. Kardashian) are just an embarrassment. And what does it matter if the older kids sometimes take care of the younger ones? This is how it is in all large families. Why not be critical of celebrities who leave their kids to be cared for/raised by nannies? This family has managed their finances without government assistance and all of their children are being raised with moral values. For those reasons alone they should be admired.
@Seal Team 6 – Just read your comment about Rusty Yates. I too always despised him because I blame him for what Andrea did. At the very least they were both 50/50 culpable and he should be locked up too. He made plenty of money as an engineer for Nasa and he had his wife living in a bus taking care of 5 kids all day at one point. I completely understood the pyschosis she endured I don’t think they explored enough the pressure/abuse she felt from him. I don’t think she was strong enough to stand up to him so she kept popping out kids and raising them until she could endure it no more. Not sure why the devil didn’t tell her to get rid of ole rusty instead of her precious children.
Suzy – So wonderfully, beautifully stated. (And way more polite than what I’m gonna say later.)
I had a “SURPRISE!” baby at 39, and while he was healthy, I nearly died. I spent a week in the hospital after my ER C-section. While hubs and I would love nothing more than to give him a little brother, fostering or adoption is the only sure-fire way I won’t die.
As a RESPONSIBLE MOTHER, I understand that my child(ren) NEED me, and it’s my job to make sure my own selfish wants don’t come into play.
That being said, this woman and man are idiots. Plain, pure and simple, own-their-own-village idiots.
I’m Catholic and I find her excuse of God wanting her to have more kids offensive. There are ways to prevent pregnancy without the use of contraceptives. The Catholic church encourages young people during marriage counseling to go see a Natural Family Planing counselor so that you can learn how to monitor your cycle so that you don’t have a ton of babies, because it’s irresponsible.
Good for her for being pro-life, but I don’t think this couple is being responsible or fair to their children. It’s hard enough to give your kids enough individual time with a couple of them. I don’t see how each child could get quality time with their parents everyday with so many.
@kel – But the Kardashians hold true to their values too MONEY. So both the Kartrashians and the Duggers are disgusting to me.
Oh one way to end overpopulation, at least in this country, is to stop welfare handouts. Trust me idiot would learn real quick about birth control if they knew they weren’t going to get paid to have children.
They get a show for being a baby factory, so why not keep on with the formula for ‘success’??? . . .KK may have to start pushing out a litter too if her ratings start to nosedive. . . They can all blame God together.
@MrsOdie2 — Damn straight! Adopt kids. Reduce your carbon footprint. Quit being so damned selfish.
I think its disgusting. I thought it was disgusting back when I saw a documentary on them when they had like 15 of the rugrats. There is no way they can care for each kid properly and there is no way the other children are getting much of a childhood having to care for their siblings.
Personally, if this one kills her maybe its karma. That might sound harsh but I don’t give a shit.
If I had 20 cats I’d be called an animal hoarder.
As long as they can pay for them who cares…it’s their life and lifestyle
Can somebody please take both parents to the ASPCA and get them spayed?
@teehee
VERY few women used to have this many children before BC came about. Men did, but not women, because they would die in childbirth, or from infections aka childbirth fever. Modern medicine allows the Quiverful and the FLDS people to whelp litters (because that is what they’re doing). Very few Catholics even do this now, because they know how dangerous it is.
People also used to need many sons to help farm.
Seal Team – I think you’re right! If they truly want more children in their family then why not adopt?
filterfreejenny: A vagina is not a clown car!
==============================================
You almost made me lose my job! I’m at the office and I laughed so hard people came running to what was so funny.
Don’t forget that they’ve declared themselves a church so they don’t have to pay taxes (just like the Kardashians …they too created their own church).
Plus, I suspect most families with this many kids do not have it as easy financially as the Duggars with their TLC salaries and free (paid for by TLC) trips here and there so the show has something interesting to film.
How can most regular (not on tv) people actually afford to have such large families? The Duggars house alone was finished and decorated by TLC. I doubt most big families would have such a nice home to live in.
Suzy: because they’ve got a sick compulsion to procreate. I’ve known families who have a dozen adopted children, and families who have adopted whole sibling groups so that the kids could stay together, and I think it’s wonderful. But these narcissistic, irresponsible breeders are beyond disgusting.
Congratulations to them, they seem like a very happy family. All the kids look normal and healthy, they are a beautiful close family unlike most families today which spend their time either watching tv or on the internet.
TG – I so agree with your sentiments about Rusty Yates. They were TOLD BY HER DOCTOR about her post-partum psychosis (worse than PPD) and that she should NOT have any more children, and he just merrily went along knocking her up 4 more times. (I think it was a “control issue” with him, I honestly do.) After her 4th kid, she attempted suicide twice.
And that fateful day, his mother was supposed to come over to help Andrea (I think that was the norm) but he couldn’t wait those all-fired important 30 minutes until she arrived.
The rest is tragic history.
@TG
I’ve said since the beginning he should have been arrested, too. He left her alone that morning, knowing she was literally mad.
Of course, he divorced Andrea and married a younger woman ASAP.
He sickens me.
Incredible, child abusers! Their kids get no love from them, TLC is at fault for giving a stage to act out this insanity, make it out to be ok like Toddlers and |Tiaras. The older kids have no life what so ever, they take care of the younger ones, they have a “buddy”!!!!! You cannot give quality time to anyone of your kids when you have so many. 20 kids and she will never stop…probably will get a surrogate when she cannot have then herself.
“God gives them children, and…they’re trying for more.”
Seems to me that if God were giving them children, they wouldn’t need to be trying for more. The children would just magically appear. Right?
“filterfreejenny: A vagina is not a clown car!
================
You almost made me lose my job! I’m at the office and I laughed so hard people came running to what was so funny.”
OMG, same.exact.thing for me! I was laughing in tears!
@Maritza (#105): Totally disagree that they seem like a happy family. I’ve watched very little of their show but saw an interview with the parents & older kids recently in a less scripted setting, & they all seemed so weird to me, like they are part of a cult. Gave me the creeps to be honest, esp the dad. There’s something very very wrong there (beyond the 20 kids thing, I mean).
I just feel so sad for all the women out there, that just want ONE, just one, healthy baby. The way they put it, it’s like God is only blessing them, with the gift of life, and the rest of the world isn’t even worthy of a healthy baby.
Seal Team – GAH! Did he really? What an ASSHOLE!
Of course she has the right to decide how many children she wants – no one is saying the government should ban her from another pregnancy. People finding it disturbing or gross does not equal wanting to take away reproductive rights.
These people aren’t just living their lives quietly – they’re announcing pregnancies every year on the Today Show and filming their lives for TV (which they don’t let their kids watch). When you make money off being in the public eye, people are going to comment.
After what happened last time, I think it’s really sad and selfish that she’s willing to risk it. She has 19 other kids, and even if she is pretty hands-off, I’m sure they all want her around.
The “odd number” comment is pretty strange.
Sick freaks. Another child born to the cage. I can’t begin to imagine what the complications might be. Every kid is measured for utility. I don’t care about her, but I do worry about any more children and their potential to be normal on every level. Delusional, fanatical wackos.
It’s immoral to continue having children when the age of both parents puts the child at a high risk for everything from autism to schizophrenia.
These people are poor examples as Christians and poor examples as parents.
Congratulations to the Duggar family!
I hope she has a healthy, easy pregnancy, and I’ll definitely be watching the show to see what they are up to.
I continue to use her as my excuse why I do not have to have kids she already mine for me. I envision them as the ones that break free from the mind control cult and have killer tattoos. 😉
This is crazy she and her husband are nuts. The older you get the harder it is to have a baby I hope for her sake she and the baby are healthy. People like this give religion a bad name, God does not want women to have 20 babies but there are always some who take religion to the extreme.
Re: Seal team 6 ; yes I am aware of that too; but it also depends on what culture you look at and what generation. In some cultures large extended families and lots of kids is the norm. My only point was that its not toooo big a stretch of the imagination, given human reproductive behavior, which is nothign like most other mammals- only once a specific time once a year or month; whereas humans are sexually active any and all the time. Or if you think conversely that mammals do produce more offspring than a typical human- large litters and bearing young each time they come into season– ….
Which is yeah- a total side topic. But thats how I comment- I always find some other odd thing to look at about a post LOL
Why isn’t it illegal to have children for money? Because that’s what they are doing — their show’s ratings (in turn, their income) depends on her getting pregnant and having ever more children. Why is prostitution illegal, but not this? Doesn’t it come down to the same thing? These parents are whores – LITERALLY.
Don’t they know what’s causing this? It’s not “God.” (Unless that’s the code word they use for having unprotected sex.)
Holy Crap! Enough already!
STOP!!!
So they’ll change the title of the show to “20 Kids and Counting”? Pretty soon they’ll have to call it “Who’s Still Counting?”
The towering soap boxes on both sides of this topic are staggering.
I’m not defending the Duggars. I’m sure as shit not supporting them. I admittedly have very little to no respect for them.
When they have to start paying proper taxes on their property and not use loopholes such as calling their home a church and when Michelle (and Jimbob) actually start raising their children with no help from the older siblings, then we’ll talk.
anonymoose – *bows* Thanks for the much-needed laugh this morning! 😀 (I think it might be Republican-ese.)
It is her body and her right to have children. But when is enough, enough?
I am very pro choice. It’s all about me and my body and my rights. She has her rights and has made her choices, but I can certainly judge and have an opinion about it.
I mean, when does is it fall into the category of irresponsible?
At what point do you know that each of her children are not being raised properly with the right amount of attention?
With all of the problems in the world like hunger and over population, at what point is enough?
There are so many children out there that need homes and are dying. With her last child and almost dying, you would think that if they really wanted more children, they would begin to adopt.
I just feel that at this point she is being very selfish. She almost died last time and like others have pointed out she may be willing to die to have more, but how very, very sick and selfish of her to say that as a mother. What about her 19 other children? She basically just said F U to them! Disgusting. She doesn’t care about abandoning her children? Wth kind of mother is that??
We know where babies come from and “God” has nothing to do with it, except to the deluded cartoonish believers who use “God” as a convenient way to explain away whatever they can’t or won’t understand. These two are just reckless narcissists looking for attention. He clearly has zero regard for his wife’s health and she is downright delusional. If one of these little “miracles” happens to be the one that kills her those other 19 kids are motherless. It’s the very definition of “selfishness”.
@Hellen – nice one. So true.
@Jackie ITA (I’m also from a big family — 11 kids.) @Notbuyingit- I cringe at the hatred too. I don’t hate the Duggars. I don’t join in when people make fun of Michelle or tell crude jokes about her vagina (FYI, my mom has 11 kids. After a gyno exam, a doc -not her normal doc- was shocked, saying her pelvic floor is like a woman who has never given birth, let alone 11. When a woman has THAT many kids she generally is very healthy in that way. My mom credits her health to having done kegels all her life )
The thing is I’m from a Quiverfull family myself and at 35, seen way too many outcomes that are tragically far from the perfect image of happy stairstep children/ happy family image Quiverfull portrays. A huge family is not just a happy picture with lots of cute kids, it’s an ever evolving thing demanding time, time, and more time. And parents are finite. The people who say “as long as I don’t have to pay for it I don’t care” …there are more ways than monetarily you end up paying for other peoples’ decisions. (But I dislike people who say such things at any rate, because they are generally huge hypocrites.) People who say “at least they aren’t Kardashians”– huh? You don’t need to be Quiverfull or even religious to teach your children good values. My question is, Why aren’t Jim and Michelle’s 20 children enough to live for, instead of the imaginary children worth dying for? I do hope this baby is healthy as well as Mrs. Duggar. But she was saying she was willing to die for some non-existant child when her 19th was still on the skids. How can you speak of dying for imaginary offspring while looking in the face of your preemie baby, your 2, 3, 4 year old? Or even 20 year old? As if the lives you have already given birth to are not worth a sacrifice or two themselves. But my opinion doesn’t make me hate Michelle or Jim Duggar.
Why the hell do all the kids’ names start with “J”? Is that an ego thing for Jim Bob?
Octomom has 14 and Gosselin has 8, so Michelle is basically both of them rolled into one.
I feel bad for the younger girls, it just means more work and less play.
THEY DON’T PAY FOR THEMSELVES. Can we get this straight?
They don’t even pay taxes, because they pray where they live, so their home is a house of worship.
WE pay all the medical bills for the entire family because he has federal health insurance – that’s our tax dollars.
They also get a monumental amount of stuff from donors and the TV show. Plus they apparently take the whole family to places that make the mistake of advertising “kids eat free” (whoops)
Everything about them is take, take, take – and then the Rapture will come and the rest of us will be stuck with the consequences, so they don’t have to worry about a thing.
@Seal Team and Bellaluna: Rusty Yates should have been tied up and horsewhipped to within an inch of his life IMO. He’s as much to blame for the tragedy in that family as she was, if not more so.
These two are collectors… some people collect figurines, cats, or spoons.. these two nuts collect kids. Enough already. The population reached 7 billion last week.
I have known women who were addicted to being pregnant. They love the attention they get while they are pregnant because it’s the only time other people notice and take care of THEM. When they are nursing they feel that bond that the baby needs them and no one else. After that stage, the child merges into other interests and people and the mother is less important again.
It’s sad that the older kids have already become parents instead of having a life of their own. At some point in time when they are all older, they will rebel against their restricted life and their own lack of parental guidance.
To hear a woman that has 19 kids say she has time to work out all the time just goes to show she isn’t the one raising them. To hear her say she is willing to die for another birth says she isn’t concerned for the rest of her kids. She and her husband aren’t mom and dad to anyone. They are a baby making factory that gets paid by TLC while living tax free under their church banner. Where does the family label stop and the cult label begin?
… and yet again with the “clown car” comments for the 1,000,000,000th time. This situation isn’t all that funny, actually, if you think about the other kids.
Cheyenne – WORD. And sterilised. That man is reprehensible.
Who on God’s green accompanies his wife to the psychiatrist and then ignores said psychiatrist’s advice? Why bother? Just chain the little lady to the bed frame (with enough room to educate and raise the children, of course) and go about your business.
Dear God, I’m actually physically nauseous now.
I don’t watcb their show so don’t know much about them, but did I read above that they don’t use birth control because God wants them to keep having kids, yet a doctor helped her conceive the last one? Wouldn’t God be telling her enough’s enough if she can’t get pregnant naturally any more?
These people seriously scare me. I can’t even begin to fathom how selfish they are.
Some people just blame god for their own selfish choices. They’re the reasons why people leave religions, cuz when the followers are saying that their god wants people to make bad choices in life, that’s a big turn off.
So this middle aged woman, whose last baby had major troubles, wants to give birth at 46, paid for by taxpayer/govt healthcare, cuz the number 19 is an odd number so they can’t stop there, & she says she’d die to have the even number 20, it’s just all cuckoo.
At this point, it’s not about religion anymore.
Stare into this woman’s eyes-she looks like she had a lobotomy.
Oh My God!! I had my only child at 36 and was exhausted literally for two years. She’s now three and a half, and I can’t even entertain the idea of having one more, let alone two, four or nineteen more. It just boggles my mind. I don’t get why anyone would want that many kids. In saying that, if all those kids are loved and cherished and have everything they need, then it’s the parent’s decision how many they have. It’s just that I believe it’s important to give your kids time. If they have 20 kids they can’t give them much of their time.
I am from a family of 7 children and I always thought that was huge! I know my mum wanted more but her last pregnancy was really tough on her (even though she was only mid 30’s) so she stopped then. This woman is ridiculous
God doesn’t give us babies, Michelle. Unvasectomized penises do.
Belle Epoch: And the parents don’t even take care of the kids. They spit out babies for the older kids to look after.
I wonder if any of those older children have anything remotely resembling a life?
Poor Michelle, if anything should happen to her, I guarantee you he will find himself a nice younger and hotter wife ASAP!!!
this “it’s Gods will” stuff is absolute BS. God helps those who helps themselves so help yourself by using birth control or preferably getting a vasectomy!!!
Awww, congratulations to the family!
And come on. She can have as many children as she wants (just because the world is overpopulated – it’s not going to stop people from f**king, get real peeps). I had a great grandmother who had 20 children and there was no hoopla about that! Matter of fact, most of the family members I love wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her…
I just hope that the pregnancy goes well for her and the baby.
For those who said we wouldn’t bat an eye if she had an abortion, but fault her for having 20, let’s compare apples to apples please:
say a woman had 20 abortions. You can bet people would be yelling that she needs to USE BIRTH CONTROL. Just like people are saying the same thing about this couple.
Basically if you are going to live your life in an extreme manner at either end of the spectrum and film it for TV, you need to expect a lot of heavy criticism.
These quiver people make me absolutely sick. I don’t believe any sane woman would have this many children voluntarily unless she had been indoctrinated into the belief that she is and only is a lesser vessel to be filled. The female body is miraculous and could produce many more than 20 babies, but that doesn’t make it sensible or healthy. It is only a way of abusing women and populating the earth with like minded people. They’re free to procreate thusly, sure, but I find it hypocritical in the extreme that anti-choicers like this could actively attempt to strip women of their reproductive rights while hiding behind the rationale that provides reproductive rights in the first place!
Vote strong pro choice. If they can make birth control illegal in this country, as mississippi is attempting, and force you to carry a pregnancy that you don’t want, then what else can they do the female body? I mean, if all we’re good for is bearing babies…
I boycott the bejesus out of TLC for bringing brain sewage like this to our homes.
Selfish, irresponsible adults. Those poor children.
god he must need to strap a plank across his ass to stop him falling in
While everyone is going on about the kids raising their siblings, I think this should be pointed out. There are children who have no siblings and have to raise themselves. I’m not defending the Duggars but it’s pretty obvious those kids are at least loved by someone. Many children don’t even have that. I disagree with anyone having more than 3 children on a purely ecological basis but on an emotional one I can definitely think of worse situations where less children are involved. These children are not physically abused and they are well fed and clothed. Emotionally this may be ideal but I think these children have it pretty good. This is getting a bit silly. She should have quit having kids 17 kids ago but I am not going to after the character of this family.
UKHels: god he must need to strap a plank across his ass to stop him falling in
=================================================
Now you know you are wrong for that! ROTFLMAO!!! 😆
So, I looked on Wikipedia, and Michelle’s second child was delivered via C-Section, and so were several others later. Not that long ago, Michelle would have died in childbirth in her very early 20’s. Modern medicine is why they have so many kids. Just interesting…
How selfish and sad.
can we at least just quit with the televised announcements? stop feeding the insanity.
I hope every last exec at TLC suffers something awful for unleashing this family on the public.
Yeah, have 20 more … it’s not like there are already 6 billion people and the planet can only support … oh wait … there is an overpopulation issue. Silly me.
Yes, modern medicine and a lot of sex. It brings them closer to god, so, freedom of religion. This is theirs, at least they don’t cry all of the time like the sister wives. I just hope that baby doesn’t suffer like the last one.
People who defend them say if they can pay for them, who cares. What about when they are grown? Are there jobs for them? Will they all be successful enough to support their families of 10 plus children? When the Duggars have 200 grandchildren, will they be able to afford all the gasoline to drive their giant vans? Surely we can’t give all 20 kids a reality show.
Shame on these ridiculous people. They breed faster than guinea pigs. Shame on them.
These people disgust me to no end. The exponential growth from this family alone will be astounding in 10-15 years. It’s almost like being hoarders but instead of piles of crap, they collect kids.
So happy not to be watching their show. Hoping the rest like it will disappear. It’s about time for the reality boom to fade away, is it not? Time for some nice escapist fiction. These” real” people are starting to make me ill.
I agree they are a lovely family and the kids are bright, well behaved, and will definitely be taught to give to their society. But please, to risk leaving 19 kids without a mother is selfish and wrong. Enough already. The new kid is always the thing, what about the kids she already has?
We don’t pay for them??? Are you kidding me?
We sure paid for #19. It costs close to $1 million to deliver a premature baby and keep it in the NICU for over four months. And what about the cost of Michelle’s hospital bill? Do you think they paid all that out of pocket? No, his gov’t issued health insurance did, which means we ALL footed the bill.
I have 1 kid, I feel for myself and for women with 2 or more……..this woman seems like a Stepford Wife shen she talks……..and yes her insides must be worn like an old gear box, and ol’ Jim Bob is still hittin on it YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!
Disgusting. There are already way too many people. Look at America, people are fighting over shitty jobs.
Too bad some trash will always have far more than they should (and let others take care of them). See also Mariah Yeater.
To Bermuda: Are you kidding me? As a professional counselor in the South I can tell you for sure most of the religious zealot patients I have ARE the dysfunctional ones. To say they will nopt end up like Lindsay Lohan means you have been watching too much TV and buying into propoganda.
The fact is, this lady, and man are disgusting. The world is OVERPOPULATED…it is UNSUSTAINABLE. Everytime I am on the highway I think of people who have kids…they complain about traffic and lines and crowds. Well guess who is doing that? EVERYONE who has kids.
It amazes me how she’s still getting some action. For some conservative Christians, the Duggars are pretty horny. Even if you schtupp just for procreation you need to be turned on and be lustful to get that thing up.
You can call the grown- ups whatever names you see fit but spare the children. They are not to blame.
bat-shit crazy.. I loathe these people.
@Playlist- Really good points. And the baby-addiction insights- I think you’re right. I’ve definitely seen it, it seems to be somewhat common in Quiverfull women I’ve known. @JudyJuy lol. I knew a Quiverfull family that had a “Noah” and a “Naomi”…I thought that was bad enough. BUt “Joy-anna” and “Johanna” definitely takes the cake.
There seems to be quite a bit of hypocrisy going on ’round here. I would guess that many of you are pro-choice (myself included), but at the same time, you have nothing but venom and insulting comments about this woman. The definition of pro-choice, is supporting a woman’s right to choose what’s going on with her own uterus. You cannot claim to support a woman’s right to choose, then at the same time insult and demean this woman. You can’t have it both ways. Either you;re pro-choice, or you’re not. Do I agree with her excessive “baby-making”? Hell no! But I as a pro-choice supporter, I feel it would be hypocritical to NOT support a woman’s right to choose….on BOTH sides of the spectrum.
“152.
UKHels:
November 8th, 2011 at 8:29 pm god he must need to strap a plank across his ass to stop him falling in”
Thanks for that laugh!!!!
Crystal
if it wasnt for there show on tv how would they support all those kids ? they are crazy .the bible doesnt tell you to have that many .they just want every thing free and they are getting it.people should stop watching the show.i dont support them or there show