The birth of the Suleman octuplets on Jan. 26 has become one of the most controversial multiple births to date. Nadya Suleman, already a single mother of six, gave birth to eight babies that she could not support. Congress needs to pass stricter legislation regulating in-vitro fertilization to protect taxpayers and families alike.

Last year, doctors irresponsibly implanted six embryos into Suleman. At the time, she was receiving over $2,900 monthly in federal and state assistance and living with her parents, whose home was facing foreclosure. Even though doctors warned Suleman that having more than two kids at a time at her age would jeopardize her health, she negligently denied to get rid of some of the existing embryos. Had she died, she would have left her six other children without a mother.

When asked how she was going to support her family, Suleman said that she planned to go back to school. If she is using food stamps, where will she find the money to pay for school? The burden will fall unfairly on taxpayers. America needs new legislation to protect its citizens from having to support irresponsibly conceived children.

It is expected that the octuplets will rack up over a million dollars in hospital bills, most of which will come out of taxpayers’ pockets. Suleman is partially to blame, but there is no legislation preventing mothers from having multiple births or children that they cannot provide for. The doctor who implanted the embryos is not facing any disciplinary action from the medical board, which sends the message that his actions were justifiable.

Unlike accidental births, in-vitro fertilization is a conscious decision. However, the majority of the burden created by these children falls on taxpayers; legislators must make sure that ordinary Americans do not have to pay for children they didn’t bring into the world.