A same-sex couple, who wanted to raise children, bought vials from a sperm bank in order to achieve conceiving a child. The couple ordered from the lab, vials that was suppose to have the sperms of a white man, however, the lab mixed up the order and sent vials that had the semen of an African American. Now, the mother of the child has sued the lab for the mix-up of vials and cites several reasons, some of which are; the child faces discrimination in her home town where most of the population consist of white people, and two, the cost of treating her child's hair as she has to drive many miles to get her daughter's hair done because no one in the town is capable of treating such hair type. The video link to the interview is here-Log In. What are your thoughts on this? do you think she'll be successful in her lawsuit?
If it's a mix-up, she could be successful. However, it took her several years to realize that something allegedly went wrong. In my opinion, the case is already moot and academic. The mom was too lethargic in her reactions that it seemed as this was merely a product of regret. Because the situation didn't go her way, she finally realized something went wrong? If she won the case, what would happen to the child? Should she return the child just because she wasn't meant to be hers in the first place? There are so many ethical considerations.
The woman has a point. The sperm bank made a mistake and they should pay the $50K the woman is seeking. I read the story and the woman allegedly was told to relocate to a more racially diverse city. Would she have had to do that, if the right sperm was delivered to her? So the expenses of moving and inconvenience caused needs to be covered by $$$$. I don't think she intends to return the kid. Someone must have told her she can make good dough if she sued the sperm bank company so she decided to sue [long shot yeah, but it might pay off]. But regardless of the outcome she has to raise the kid as a mother. Talk of learning racial tolerance the hard way!
Her case is saying that racial prejudice is accepted, which the last time I looked it isn't. Can she prove that the people around her are racist? I doubt many will admit to it, but that's what she will need to prove. Just because you have the sperm of someone with blond hair doesn't mean the child will be blond. My friend and her sisters all have red hair as it skipped a generation. They would have to prove if she did have the right sperm, the baby would not have had the color of hair they wanted and that cannot be proven.
How on earth do things like this happen? Surely handling such important things like this you would have though that there would have been very very strict handling procedures. This is life changing stuff. This isn't like some standard parcel warehouse where mis deliveries can just be couriered. This is something that will affect all involved for life.
Barring the fact that most people including the judge will think she's racist, fact is she's raised this kid for 2 years without complaining. It's her baby, nothing will change that. Her counselor, if she's willing to testify will probably convince the court that the kid will be better of in a racially diverse neighborhood. Racism does exist . . . and this woman spoke out because she cares about her daughter's [future] happiness and is fighting to get her just that.
I can understand why some people think it's too late, but I have a feeling that she's just now realizing the actual costs. Yes, she loves her child. Yes, she was thrilled to have her and they wanted to keep her no matter what. It's not like they didn't realize she was a different color until now, but they wanted her anyway, etc, etc. Now that she's getting older and they've had to relocate, etc, they're starting to realize more of the costs associated with it. I'm actually surprised they're not suing for a lot more. $50k is nothing compared to what they could be suing for.
While it is a pretty serious mix-up, her reasons are completely unjustified. First she's blaming the lab because the people who live around her are racists and after that because of the hairdresser she need to go to? She could much more easily sue them for not getting her what she wanted, not make these crazy claims.
I have to agree with you completely. Her reasons are just without any justifiable foundation. If she's really just upset with "not getting her way", then she should just be outright and say so. Noone believes this implausible argument about the racist neighborhood and then the hairdresser. I mean, the fact is: she's already given birth to this beautiful daughter, and she should be happy with this very fact. There are countless numbers of persons, throughout the world, who are absolutely "dying" for the opportunity to have a family, let alone be able to give birth to a child of their own. She also needs to "own up" to the fact that it's not the racism of her neighborhood that she's afraid of, for if that were the case, then she would have made the decision to relocate, for her family's greater good. But, instead, she chooses to make it appear as though the neighborhood is the problem. What may be the most frightening thought for her is that she may actually be the one who is struggling with racist perceptions, for if she were completely comfortable with having the beautiful, mixed baby that she now has, then even the thickest expression of racism would not raise the necessity in her to actually bring forth a suit. I strongly believe that she needs to revisit the motive behind her firm action!
Of course they can be responsible. As long as there's nothing in the contract protecting the company from this kind of situation, the two will obviously be quite successful in their suit. What interests me though is what kind of lawyer the company is going to have to conjure to protect themselves from this one.
First of all, I don't agree with the kind of practice of buying a sperm just to have your own kid who you will raise by yourself. But since the transaction is bound by legal agreements, if the right of the woman was violated, then she should really fight it over the court and that the company should really be sanctioned gravely since life is involved. Another thing, I want to mention here is that I think the reason of the woman is quite shallow. We should eradicate discrimination and not avoid it. Let's face it and kill it.
If she can prove that there was a mix up then I think she has a good chance. Otherwise, I don't think the race and hair issues hold much water, although if she's doing this and I'm sure she was probably talked into it by a lawyer, so I'm guessing it's worth a shot. I'm no lawyer so I could be wrong, but I think she could win it even with just the proof of mix up alone.
There is only one thing that is relevant to this lawsuit. The sperm was supposed to come from white donors, but instead it came from African American donors. That's all that matters. They gave her the wrong sperm and they should pay. If you order a red sweater and the website sends you a blue one, you expect them to make it right. Giving someone the incorrect sperm is a huge mixup. The racism and all of that is important in life, but not important in this case. In this trial, all that matters is that the lab gave her the wrong sperm ,and they should compensate her. They did not give her what she paid for.
This is something scary, technology has advanced so much that can create sperm banks, but all that can be messed up like this? She should sue indeed, but I feel this is irreparable damage, she bought one thing and another was given to her.
I think that you need to look up the words "same-sex couple". No one is raising a kid by themselves. This is just a lesbian couple who wanted to start a family together. Also, this is not just about discrimination. They gave her the wrong sperm, not the sperm she paid for, so in a way they cheated her out of her money. If you order a computer and they send you a broom, you would be right to feel cheated. She paid for Caucasian sperm and that is what they should have delivered. They gave her the wrong sperm, so basically they stole her money.
Following this lawsuit another woman from Ohio if I'm not wrong, came out to protest that she'd also been given the wrong sperm. The woman and her boyfriend or husband were members of a white supremacist group so when she bore a black kid, the guy beat a hasty retreat lest his friends kick him out of the organization and in addition to that he also didn't want to be taunted with "he was shooting blanks" kind of comments. Unlike the lesbian couple here's the woman's plan:
Without reading the small print she signed it is hard to speculate what she can claim for. In another report, apparently you don't pay for the sperm but the service of insemination, therefore she did not pay for the sperm, but the clinic's services. Therefore she can't claim for something she did not buy as she was inseminated, if they failed to inseminate her that would be a different matter and, I'm sure in the terms and conditions it says fertilization is not guaranteed. It is a matter of law and I'm sure it's not the first time people have not been happy with what they have 'produced' so clinics protect themselves with a lot of small print.
