A case that is before the courts here in Australia at the moment involves a couple who entered an IVF program and accidently got pregnant with twins rather than the singleton baby that was desired.
The couple are suing the obstetrician for around $400k for the increased costs of bringing up the ‘extra’ (unwanted) child, but are also litigating for the pain and suffering of the non-gestational partner who claims that the birth-mother has lost her ability to love because of the pregnancy and birth. According to them, the extra strains of a multiple birth have put stresses on their relationship that demands that ‘somebody’ pay.
Now here’s where MY humble opinion comes in…
Suck it up ladies. No pregnancy or birth comes with ‘guarantees’, whether they be via natural or assisted means. Your Dr accidently implanted two embryos instead of the one you requested, but there was no certainty that the single embryo might not have ‘split’ anyway. These things happen sometimes.
And you know what? Having a baby DOES affect the partner relationship. And I will concede that twins probably cause much tiredness and strain between the couple, but other couples have coped over the eons without going mental like you two.
You have two healthy little girls (aged 3 now) and you’re suing someone because one of them happened to be born? You’re on a combined income of around $120k apparently, with lots of support and resources, but you still feel hard done by because you have double the blessing instead of the half you expected?
Now chances are you might actually win this court case because the Dr has admitted that he stuffed up with the implantation.
But I hope against hope that the damages awarded amount to the cost of a dual-carriage baby buggy and not a cent more.
Apparently after this similar Queensland case , the State government legislated to stop similar “wrongful birth” cases in the future. What’s the betting other State governments are thinking about folling their lead right about now…
This is the most revolting case. They should have both children taken from them since they are clearly unable to function as loving, caring parents. Where would they have been if their one child had been born disabled, or if one implanted embryo had divided naturally?
The linked article failed to mention that the lady in question had signed a consent form authorising the implantation of two embryos and only instructed her doctor to implant one when she was in the operating room. Cite.
The worst part about this is that they are a lesbian couple. Now every bigot has come crawling out of the woodwork to say “This is why gays and lesbians shouldn’t be allowed to have children” :rolleyes: This could just as easily have happened to a straight couple but it didn’t, and now gay and lesbian parents face increased prejudice because of* course* it’s the sexuality of the couple that made them such litigious, money-grabbing assholes.
Friends of mine have just welcomed triplets. They specifically requested a singleton. They are happy and not idiots like the couple in the above-mentioned case, and have no intention to sue anyone.
When my SIL underwent IVF, they were specifically instructed NUMEROUS TIMES both verbally and in writing that multiples were possible and perhaps likely.
But of course, don’t let logic and intelligence get in the way of a good lawsuit… :rolleyes:
My wife and I considered IVF a few years back. One of the doctors we saw had a wall next to his desk that was covered with photos of triplets and quadruplets, with the occasional twins and quints thrown in. Thus ended the consideration.
At any rate, I’ve got no sympathy for this couple. I’m sure they were warned, just like EJsGirl’s SIL was. If two is too much to handle, the world is full of would-be parents who’d love to adopt a little girl.
I know a couple who has triplets…and they were conceived the “regular” way! Who do you sue then? God? Anything can happen in this life, especially when it comes to having children.
Can you imagine how those girls are going to feel when they catch wind of this? “Which one of us didn’t you want, mommy and daddy?”
We have neighbors that wanted two and had two boys. A few years later they thought “one more time for a girl…and triplets.” Didn’t see that coming in this context did you? From “want two” to “five.”
But my mother in law has a friend who wanted NONE and then her sister died…life sometimes throws curveballs.
Also, IVF is a long, painful, expensive process. Jacking up your hormones to ripen eggs, going in and getting them, jacking around with your hormones again in preparation for implanting embryos (if you or your SO can’t stomach giving daily injections, you are screwed), then the implantation itself… my SIL found it to be a nightmare.
Multiple embryos are usually implanted to play the odds that at least one will attach. I believe in some cases “extra” embryos can be selectively aborted if too many are viable, but I imagine that’s a hell of a process too…
My SIL had multiple eggs inserted the first time, but nothing “took.” The next time, she did just one, in order to keep 2 more in reserve for later attempts (the extraction was so bad, she decided she wouldn’t do it again).
EJsGirl’s understanding mirrors my own - IVF is often something of a shot-gun when the time to implant the fertilized eggs, or proto-embryos, or whatever the proper term might be. I cannot imagine how someone going through IVF would be unaware of the potential for multiple births.
From what I gather, the testimony of everybody is more or less in agreement that they always said they wanted one implanted. Filling out the paperwork with “1 to 2” is said to have been more about the thawing/preparation of the embryos for transfer.
It appears from what I have read that things went wrong because the doctor (who is evidently quite well known) does not ordinarily practice at this particular hospital. So the communication issues were beween him and his staff (who I gather knew they only wanted the one transferred) and the hospital personnel (like, say, the folks preparing the embryos and went on the paperwork they had) didn’t go in the normal routine.
There are a number of agendas churning as a result of this case, from the folks who think only one should ever be implanted to the folks who think fertility assistance should not be available on the ground of “social infertility” as opposed to medical infertility (read: lesbians).
Honestly, it’s my own opinion that the judge, should the failure to communicate count as malpractice in Australia, should calculate their damages from the twin, then calculate the value of the life of the twin, offset the one against the other, order the couple to pay the doctor the balance, and then remove both children from the custody of this pair.
I feel certain that last is not an option. But a girl can dream.
Wow, I can’t believe that all possible permutations of “no suing us if your offspring don’t turn out exactly the way you want” weren’t written all OVER every bit of fine print and paperwork. That’d be a no-brainer for me if I were an IVF clinic.
Not illegal, but such procedures always carry the risk of removing both embryos I guess. It hasn’t been mentioned (in my reading anyway) whether the parents were given the option to attempt reduction and refused, or whether it was recommended against because of the chance of losing the pregnancy altogether. It may not have been mentioned at all.
And here I was all set to condemn this woman as well, but then I actually read the article linked in the OP:
So, they specifically instructed the doctor to implant only one, and he implanted two anyway. That’s a whole 'nother kettle of fish. He did a procedure he was expressly instructed not to do, and it wasn’t for any sort of medical necessity. As I see it, that’s medical battery. Sounds to me like he’s on the hook for the consequences.
