No responsible adult would have kids at the age of 70.
I'm sure the kid is happy to be here though. Some parents would have had the kid scooped out by a medical instrument and discarded.
That's a ridiculous claim. Since we're talking about men here, many men do better as fathers at an older age then younger. Thurmond was as healthy and energetic at 70 as most men in their 40s, and it wasn't considered "scandalous" at all in the 1970s.
You could have children in your teens and 20s and not necessarily live to see them to adulthood. My grandmother was 30 when she had my mother and aunt and died of cancer when her children were teens. Thurmond lived long enough to see his kids to adulthood, and sadly, outlived one of his daughters who was killed by a drunk driver. I think his actions were neither irresponsible or disgusting, and neither did most South Carolinians.
Better to have them when you're 70 than 12.