Summary
Krystena Murray, a 38-year-old Georgia woman, is suing Coastal Fertility Specialists for mistakenly implanting another couple’s embryo, leading her to unknowingly carry and give birth to a child who was not biologically hers.
In the lawsuit, she alleges she “was turned into an unwitting surrogate, against her will” and had to surrender the baby five months after delivery.
The clinic admitted the mistake, calling it an isolated incident.
Experts warn that IVF mix-ups, while rare, are not federally regulated, raising concerns about oversight in fertility clinics.
This does beg the question for me, what actually determines who a baby’s legal parents are? I would imagine that in a proper surrogacy situation, there would be some legal agreement signed beforehand, but obviously there wouldn’t be in this case since the situation wasn’t intended. Is it based on genetics, or whoever the baby was born to (for the mother at least)? I can think of rare edge cases for both of those that might make the matter confusing. This seems to support the former since the woman involved had to give the baby up, but the article seems to suggest that she simply settled the paternity suit rather than being ruled against.
You are correct that there is an agreement signed beforehand. There is also usually an escape clause covering what happens if the surrogate refuses to give up the baby.