Carrying a baby with trisomy 21? Can’t have an abortion because of the bad PR? Just get on a plane around your due date against medical advice. Then whatever happens is God’s will. Right?

As for the Duggars… maybe not so much. Their family portraits make them seem like a lengthy series of matryoshka, all dressed and groomed alike. I suspect that whichever ones of them that break free and see the larger world (probably by enlisting in the military) will be disinclined to follow their parents’ baby mill example, and the others will have a hard time finding mates who are willing to sign up for so many brothers-and-sisters-in-law to remember and keep track of.

Also, regarding the comments about the higher probability of abnormalities in children as the mother ages: that is not seen as a drawback or a reason not to continue to procreate for these folks. But you already knew that!

The only thing I’d add is that the Mongols were historically outstanding in terms of their brutality, putting entire towns they’d conquered to the sword. So perhaps part of the reason the “Ghengis Khan haplotype” is so prevalent now is that the competing male lineages at the time were wiped out?

Have there been other cases in which they’ve argued for current haplotype distributions being attributable to a single individual, except mitochondrial eve?

http://www.thegeneticgenealogist.com/2007/12/28/famous-dna-review-part-iii-niall-of-the-nine-hostages/

3 million men are descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, High King at Tara (in Ireland) from 379 to 405 AD. He is the “Neil” in O’Neil.

The methods used were pretty much the same as the ones for determining the descendants of Genghis Kahn. The O’Neils occupied the North of Ireland and today 1 in 5 men there carry the genetic markers that show they are Niall’s descendents

I guess it makes sense.

2. Anthropology aside, is the idea of 19 kids (+x “on the way”) really a good idea? When you have you to consign your kids to a buddy system for everyday life – and the buddy part isn’t you – there might be a problem.

3. That being said, large families have not only existed but thrived in many parts of the world. (Ireland, I’m looking at you.)

4. More anthropology +biology aside, the concept of abnormalities in children is of no concern to this particular sub-group of families. The need/want/desire to have more lil ones trumps all. (for better or for worse, and who are we to say which?)

5. OVERPOPULATION: China tried population regulation, and succeeded to such a degree that Chinese baby girls are the gold star of American adoptions. Overpopulation has always been, and always will be, a “problem.” Except that new human beings may not be such a problem…

6. PROMOTION: Of course the Duggars are “selling” their lifestyle. Dooce did it. Trunk does it. Perez masters it. Gosselin… well, another day. All have a “concept” that sells to the public. Stop talking about it, it goes away. Except no one does, and it never does.

7. Mrs D’s Nethers: I do not want to know. And, I suspect, neither do you. Stop speculating and spare us all.

Aaaall of that said, I hope they stop. They set a bad precedent among the wanna-be reality stars.

Population growth has been slowing for decades, which is why the 1970s Soylent Green-esque predictions of early 21st century life never came to pass. That doesn’t mean we can all go out there and spawn a Duggar-sized clan but it does mean that we should see them as the exception and not the rule.

I’m disgusted by the thought of a person choosing to stuff their face with 19 hamburgers at a sitting because they REALLY like the taste of hamburgers. I feel the same sort of revulsion of someone choosing to have 19 children in the course of their lifetime.

Whether personally or ideologically driven, ‘want’ is not a good enough reason.

As a nifty thought experiment, aim some of the above insults at him and his offspring and see if you feel funny about it, or if it rubs people the wrong way. Or at the above-linked Israeli lady and her family.

Comments like “This is not a family. It is a human puppy-mill.” or “Maybe they will breed until they run out of food, like bacteria”.

Other disabilities become more common, as well. Raising 19-20 kids is hard enough, add a couple of disabled children in the mix and you’ve got a real challenge!