Court says birth parents of girl born in IVF mix-up must give her to genetic parents
Rishon Lezion Family Court says 2-year-old to be removed from custody of parents who raised her, after high-profile mishap brought about lawsuit against hospital
The Rishon Lezion Family Court ruled on Sunday that the genetic parents of a baby born in a 2022 mix-up at an IVF clinic are the child’s legal parents, and ordered that she be removed from the custody of the parents who birthed and raised her and given to the parents whose genes she carries.
The baby girl, Sophia, now over two years old, is in the custody of the woman who gave birth to her and the woman’s partner. The couple mounted a months-long legal battle to keep and raise the child despite not being genetically linked to her, and on Sunday vowed to keep fighting for her.
Judge Oved Elias said his decision was based on the recommendation of Dr. Daniel Gottlieb, a psychologist from the Shinui Institute appointed to the case who recommended that the baby be placed in the custody of her genetic parents.
A second position paper written by two social workers had recommended leaving the baby with the birth parents, but Elias rejected the recommendation.
The judge said that the transfer of custody should be carried out “with an organized plan” to be performed under the auspices of the Tel Aviv Social Welfare department.
Elias explained his verdict, saying that it was based on the “starting point where genetic parents are the natural parents and it’s best for a child to be raised by them.”
“The benefits that will arise from handing the girl over to her genetic parents and her life with them overcome the damage that will be caused by disconnecting her from the parents who have been raising her. The benefits of life with the genetic parents are, among others, in her future identity, connecting her to the family’s genealogy, a shared family story, and matching psychologies and family values,” he added.
The woman who has been raising Sophia told Kan that she and her partner intended to appeal the decision at the High Court of Justice and fight to keep the child.
“As a mother, I don’t understand how they can tear my daughter from me after I birthed her with blood, sweat, and tears? She is the fruit of my womb and I’ve been raising her for more than two years. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll wait until justice is done at the High Court of Justice.
“I am Sophia’s mother, and she is a sweet girl who only months ago underwent a third life-threatening surgery. I’m not a womb for rent, and with all my grief for the woman who gave the egg, she didn’t make the child. I was implanted with the embryo, carried her, and gave birth to her, and I will not allow my daughter to be uprooted from me. It’s inhumane. I won’t lend a hand in risking my daughter’s life.”
Sophia’s genetic parents celebrated the verdict, however, telling Kan that it “rectified” the mistake made at the IVF clinic.
“She is coming home to live with the family she was supposed to be born into. Everything was done to try to protect her privacy and allow her to be raised in peace. We are overjoyed and waiting for the moment we will finally be able to hug our daughter and be hugged by her, which is something we’ve been waiting for for so long,” they said.
The mix-up at Rishon Lezion’s Assuta Medical Center was discovered when the then-in utero fetus was determined to have medical problems and consequently underwent a variety of tests. The results showed that neither the woman carrying the child nor her partner could be her biological parents.
After reviewing medical records and interviewing medical staff and patients, an external committee concluded that the mix-up most likely occurred when the woman who received the embryo and the genetic mother were both in the clinic’s waiting area at the same time. The women went in for embryo transfer in the wrong order, resulting in the error.
A Health Ministry probe into the incident, published in March 2023, pointed to significant breaches in protocol due to heavy workload resulting in the embryo mix-up.
In parallel to the testing, the couple raising the baby filed a lawsuit against Assuta for NIS 10 million ($2.8 million) over the mishap.
While the committee’s investigation was underway, the Health Ministry demanded in October 2022 that the medical center’s fertility department reduce its operations by 50 percent — from 10,000 fertilization treatments a year to 5,000.
A series of disturbing errors also came to light in the IVF department of the Assuta Medical Center in Tel Aviv. As a result, the Health Ministry barred the clinic from accepting new patients.
