Perhaps, as the mother of six already, Suleman has a greater capacity to handle eight more children. I don't know. But I think we should all be concerned that her support system is already fraying around the edges.

She's 33. I'll surmise that her mother is at least 20 years older. Grandma's already the round-the-clock caregiver to six little kids. She's been outspoken about the demands it has placed on her.

As much as I want to cluck about Suleman's decisions, the fact of the matter is she has 14 children who deserve love, care and nurturing. We have to be concerned about the existing mother-daughter rift that is playing out in the media. "She really, really has no idea what she's doing to her children and to me," Mrs. Suleman said on the celebrity news Web site RadarOnline.com.

But what may be more troubling is, where's dad in all of this?

Suleman's mother, Angela Suleman, says Nadya's boyfriend is the biological father of all 14 children. He wanted to marry her, but she refused. She wanted to have the children on her own.

That's just sad, because all children deserve as much love and support (including financial support) as possible — and more so when there's 14 of them.Marjorie Cortez, who hopes people can set aside their judgments of Suleman and step up to help these children, is a Deseret News editorial writer. E-mail her at Marjorie@desnews.com.