Whoops! Wrong sperm!

[skcin]

:shocked:

As a side note - just how many Howard Sterns are there? :p


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17735987/wid/11915773?GT1=9145

NY fertility clinic used wrong sperm, suit claims
Baby darker than either parent; judge allows malpractice case to proceed
March 22, 2007
NEW YORK - A couple can proceed with a lawsuit against a fertility clinic they filed after the wife gave birth to a daughter whose skin they thought was too dark to be their child, a judge has ruled.

Thomas and Nancy Andrews, of Commack, N.Y., sued New York Medical Services for Reproductive Medicine, accusing the Manhattan clinic of medical malpractice and other offenses. They claim the Park Avenue clinic used another man’s sperm to inseminate Nancy Andrews’ eggs.

Three DNA tests — a home kit and two professional laboratory tests — confirmed that Thomas Andrews was not the baby’s biological father, state Supreme Court Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam quoted the couple as saying.

The couple says that they have been forced to raise a child who is “not even the same race, nationality, color ... as they are,” the judge said in the ruling.

The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, came to light Wednesday after the judge issued a decision that allows them to proceed with parts of the lawsuit while dismissing other parts.

The judge quoted the couple as saying that after their daughter, Jessica, was born Oct. 19, 2004, they knew something was wrong because of her physical appearance.


They say that “while we love Baby Jessica as our own, we are reminded of this terrible mistake each and every time we look at her; it is simply impossible to ignore,” the judge’s decision said.

The judge, in her ruling made public Wednesday, dismissed the claims against Dr. Martin Keltz, who had advised the procedure and had performed the embryo implantation.

She allowed the case to proceed against Dr. Reginald Puckett as owner of the clinic but threw out the case against him as an individual.

In trying to have the lawsuit against Puckett dismissed, his lawyer, Martin B. Adams, told the court that Puckett “did not examine, communicate with, care for or treat plaintiffs.”

The judge found Carlo Acosta, the non-physician embryologist who processed the egg and sperm for creation of an embryo, also could be held liable.

The couple’s lawyer, Howard J. Stern, did not immediately return a telephone call for comment.

[amber]

Yo, tell me about it!!! :rolleyes:

Oh, I guess I'll read your post.

[strandinthewind]

People are really weird about this. Many think these people are a$$holes because this kind of baby ordering is wring and they have a baby - so they should count their blessings and keep their mouthes shut.

Many, including me, think that while, yes, they are fortunate to have a child, the agency likely made tens of thousands of dollars off of them and failed to do what they said they would do.

[mikeschmike]

The couple says that they have been forced to raise a child who is “not even the same race, nationality, color ... as they are,” the judge said in the ruling.


They say that “while we love Baby Jessica as our own, we are reminded of this terrible mistake each and every time we look at her; it is simply impossible to ignore,” the judge’s decision said.

Jesus...sounds like it's going to be one big happy childhood for Jessica, huh?

[strandinthewind]

Jesus...sounds like it's going to be one big happy childhood for Jessica, huh?

I know - if they are that horrified, then they should give the baby up for adoption :shrug: I mean I get that they likely feel violated, wronged, etc. - but, this is an innocent baby for goodness sake :mad:

[carrie721]

People are really weird about this. Many think these people are a$$holes because this kind of baby ordering is wring and they have a baby - so they should count their blessings and keep their mouthes shut.

Many, including me, think that while, yes, they are fortunate to have a child, the agency likely made tens of thousands of dollars off of them and failed to do what they said they would do.

i think they are assholes for the comments they made about having to raise a child of a different nationality and how they're reminded of it every time they look at her, blah blah. but i agree that the agency should be held accountable for their mistake.

[ELIUD]

Damn. That's effed up. And to add yet another Howard Stern to the story, makes it even more twisted. I think they should sue the **** outta them.

[DrummerDeanna]

i think they are assholes for the comments they made about having to raise a child of a different nationality and how they're reminded of it every time they look at her, blah blah. but i agree that the agency should be held accountable for their mistake.

That is exactly how I feel. Thank you for putting into words before I had to :p

Actually I tried to reply earlier but couldn't find the right words...mostly though I think "that poor baby" :distress:

[mikeschmike]

Actually I tried to reply earlier but couldn't find the right words...mostly though I think "that poor baby" :distress:

Me too. Regardless of the situation, they're parents now and their job is to raise that baby as well as they can. That doesn't mean shaking your head at it in disgust either. Just because it's "darker" then you? Please. What about the parents that have ginger kids? Who do they get to sue?

[skcin]

Me too. Regardless of the situation, they're parents now and their job is to raise that baby as well as they can. That doesn't mean shaking your head at it in disgust either. Just because it's "darker" then you? Please. What about the parents that have ginger kids? Who do they get to sue?

Bwwwaaaahhhhhaaaahahahahahahaha! :laugh:

[BTFLCHLD]

Regardless of the situation, they're parents now and their job is to raise that baby as well as they can. Is it possible that they wanted a child created by her egg and his sperm? I do not see that they want to disown this child. I do find the comments the judge has attributed to them very disturbing.

[mikeschmike]

Is it possible that they wanted a child created by her egg and his sperm? I do not see that they want to disown this child. I do find the comments the judge has attributed to them very disturbing.

I don't see them wanting to disown this child either. From reading the judge's ruling and based on what he quoted the parents as stating, I think the parents are going to have a hard time with putting the blame solely on the fertility clinic, and not including the baby somewhat in that. See Carrie and Strand's comments above. They said it better then I could. :nod:

[amber]

Is it possible that they wanted a child created by her egg and his sperm? I do not see that they want to disown this child. I do find the comments the judge has attributed to them very disturbing.

The baby is still related to the mom, so she's not totally another race, nationality, etc. blah. She's half of whatever the mom is.
I would be mad too. But I think they will get over it, or already have, as far as how they treat the baby, it's still related. I bet the comments were more for the lawsuit. But that stuff is way expensive, and they should be reimbursed - they might want to have another one that is related to both of them.

[irishgrl]

People are really weird about this. Many think these people are a$$holes because this kind of baby ordering is wring and they have a baby - so they should count their blessings and keep their mouthes shut.

Many, including me, think that while, yes, they are fortunate to have a child, the agency likely made tens of thousands of dollars off of them and failed to do what they said they would do.

I would think its a clear breach of contract and fair game for tort liability/damages :shrug:

[irishgrl]

i think they are assholes for the comments they made about having to raise a child of a different nationality and how they're reminded of it every time they look at her, blah blah. but i agree that the agency should be held accountable for their mistake.

wait a minute here: if you are a caucasian couple or any other nationality for that matter, and you go to a fertility clinic with the idea/hope that you can have your OWN child (with assistance from the clinic) I dont think its unreasonable for them to expect that the baby they end up with has the proper DNA. Sorry.


If parent A and parent B pay $$$$$ to have X clinic assist them in creating baby C, baby C should CERTAINLY have DNA from parent A and parent B. not parent D,E,F,G,H,I,J etc.......come ON!! this isnt about RACE. This is about expecting predictable results from a fixed set of circumstances. Think about it: this could have had repercussions down the line if one or both of the parents had a documented physical condition that could have potentially been passed on to the child or possibly the child could have had a condition that neither parent contributed to. Either way, the Clinic bears responsibility for failing to fulfill its duty. AND for fraud IMO, in passing off a baby as the bona fide progeny of two prospective parents when in fact there is no proof that such is the case. Thats just WRONG IMO.

[carrie721]

wait a minute here blah blah blah

what part of "they should be held accountable for their mistake" do you not understand?

[sparky]

The clinic made a big ass mistake and should certainly take responsibility.
However, those parents have a lot of nerve taking someone else to task about ethics or morals. If they get 10 bucks or 10 million, it will never repair one thing: the damage done to that kid when she reads the way in which they regard her. That's one thing no one will ever be able to fix. This should have been dealt with privately, or they should have just tossed her back in the first place. The karmic retribution is gonna be epic. Those two are a couple of self centered ****heaps.

[carrie721]

The clinic made a big ass mistake and should certainly take responsibility.
However, those parents have a lot of nerve taking someone else to task about ethics or morals. If they get 10 bucks or 10 million, it will never repair one thing: the damage done to that kid when she reads the way in which they regard her. That's one thing no one will ever be able to fix. This should have been dealt with privately, or they shoud have just tossed her back in the first place. The karmic retribution is gonna be epic. Those two are a couple of self centered ****heaps.

WORD.

:xoxo:

[strandinthewind]

I would think its a clear breach of contract and fair game for tort liability/damages :shrug:

Correct, unless the clinic's standard contract tries to waive that, which likely would not be held up in court.