You know that visceral reaction some have had to the octuplets story? The disbelief over each new detail about the mother that is wholly inconsistent with responsible parenthood? The frustration brought on by the realization that taxpayers will foot the bill for all this? That sickening, sinking feeling that comes from imagining all the challenges awaiting these babies?

Well, that is exactly the kind of response we should have when it comes to the issue of unplanned pregnancy.

Like uber-breeder Nadya Suleman, mothers who become parents before they themselves say they're ready face a higher incidence of poverty, relationship turmoil and single parenthood. Taxpayers are also on the hook for much of the financial burden associated with raising children born of unplanned pregnancy, just like they will likely be for the octuplets. And most importantly, like that now-famous octet, babies born of unplanned pregnancies face enormous obstacles, from neglect and father absence to developmental delays and poverty. The biggest difference is that there are only eight new Suleman babies, while unplanned pregnancy in the United States accounts for more than a milllion births every year.

So don't stop questioning the medical ethics and societal influences that allowed the octuplet situation to happen. Don't stop criticizing the seemingly selfish and unrealistic fantasies of the parent in this story. And don't stop talking about how babies deserve better. But please, don't limit your concern to the Suleman family.