Octuplet grandad: ‘Do not punish babies’

The father of the California woman who gave birth to octuplets told TV host Oprah Winfrey that he hoped people did not punish his grandchildren for his daughter’s “irresponsible” behaviour.

Ed Doud said in an interview recorded for next Tuesday’s Oprah Winfrey Show that the actions of his daughter Nadya Suleman and her doctor were “absolutely irresponsible”. But he also issued a plea for the public’s help.

“You know what? She needs help. I say to everybody now — people — we do need help,” Mr Doud said.

“Do not punish my daughter for what she has done and do not punish the babies, because they were given by God.”

Suleman, a 33-year-old single mother from Whittier, already had six children when she gave birth to octuplets after undergoing in vitro fertilisation. She is unemployed and lives with her mother in a three-bedroom home, which could be repossessed and sold at auction in May.

A California-based non-profit group, Angels in Waiting, has offered Suleman round-the-clock care and a place to stay with her 14 children. It would cost about £95,000 (€105,000) a month to provide the 12 caretakers necessary for the children, money that would have to come from public donations.