Farewell after five months Wrong embryo implanted - woman takes US clinic to court
She knew immediately after the birth that something was wrong. Nevertheless, a woman in the USA spent months raising a child that was not her own - until she had to say goodbye.
20.02.2025, 21:29
dpa
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- A fertility clinic inserts a false embryo into a woman who is not related to her.
- Nevertheless, she raises the child in its first months and forms a bond with it.
- Then the child's biological parents sue for custody after the clinic has tracked them down.
- After five months, the woman has to hand the child over to its biological parents.
A woman in the US state of Georgia takes a fertility clinic to court because she was implanted with the wrong embryo. She "unknowingly and involuntarily carried a child to term that was not related to her", according to the statement of claim, which was filed in a court in the city of Savannah on Tuesday (local time).
The woman had decided to have a child with the help of a sperm donor and test tube fertilization. One of her eggs was to be used and the resulting embryo transferred to her.
The woman had chosen a sperm donor who, like herself, had blonde hair and blue eyes. In December 2023, she then gave birth to a "dark-skinned, African-American" child. It was "obvious" that the child was not related to her. A DNA test later confirmed this. Nevertheless, she had raised the child in its first months and formed a bond with it.
Biological parents sue for custody
When the clinic informed the child's biological parents, they sued for custody. The child was then handed over to them at the age of five months. "I left the building with an empty stroller while they walked away with my son," the 38-year-old told NBC News.
Not a day goes by that she doesn't think about the boy, the woman told the station. "I raised him for five months, but I didn't see his first steps. I don't know what his first words are." She will probably never see the child again, according to the statement of claim.
The 38-year-old also does not know what happened to her own embryo and whether it was also mistakenly implanted in another woman. She has suffered physical, emotional and financial stress, according to the lawsuit. The lawyers are insisting on compensation.
