An Israeli court on Monday ruled in favor of the couple who gave birth to a baby girl following an in-vitro fertilization (IVF) mix-up, determining that they will remain her legal parents despite a lack of genetic connection. The decision upheld the couple’s parental rights while recognizing the importance of maintaining a connection between the child and her biological parents.
The ruling by the Central District Court overturned a lower court’s decision and concluded that the woman who carried and gave birth to the baby, named Sophia, should be recognized as her legal mother. The case arose from an IVF error at Assuta Medical Center in Rishon Lezion, where an embryo belonging to another couple was mistakenly implanted in the mother’s womb. The mistake was discovered through genetic testing after the child’s birth.
The couple raising Sophia expressed relief and joy following the court’s decision. “We are thrilled and emotional over the ruling that corrected the injustice done to us in the lower court,” they said in a statement.
“We pray this decision will give our daughter and us the peace we need to continue her development. We are focused solely on our child and want to raise her in security and quiet, as any parent would.” They also expressed hope that, with time, both sides would have space to process the ruling, potentially opening the door for some level of future communication.
Attorney Galit Kerner, who represented the couple raising Sophia, welcomed the court’s decision. “This is a sensitive and humane ruling that affirms a mother and father cannot and should not be separated from the child they carried and have lovingly raised,” she said.
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
The biological parents of the child, however, reacted with dismay. “We are shocked and heartbroken by this decision, which reverses the ruling of the Family Court,” they said in a statement. “This ruling sends the painful message that even the most serious mistakes and injustices are not only left uncorrected but legitimized and perpetuated by the state. We are solely focused on Sophia’s well-being, her future, her identity and her life story. The idea that our daughter will grow up in the result of a mistake that could have been corrected early on is unbearable. Her whole life is ahead of her, and we firmly believe that her long-term best interest is to grow up with her biological family, to whom she belongs and resembles.”
Attorneys Shmuel Moran and Noa Gelerman Liel, who represent the biological parents, criticized the ruling, calling it a dangerous precedent. “This effectively amounts to a redistribution of children in society. It sends a perilous message, particularly in the realm of fertility treatments and birth,” they said.
The court cited several factors in its ruling, emphasizing that the woman who gave birth to Sophia had carried the pregnancy without knowing of the error. The judges highlighted that she risked her own life to save the baby, undergoing an in utero surgery despite medical advice to terminate the pregnancy due to detected heart defects. The court noted that both she and her partner had devoted themselves to the child’s care and well-being since birth.
Given the complexities of artificial reproduction and the potential for human error, the court stated that prioritizing the “principle of certainty” is crucial — affirming that the birth mother should be recognized as the child’s legal parent. This principle, the ruling argued, prevents the need for retroactive genetic testing to determine legal parentage in future fertility errors. Instead, genetic testing should only serve to inform the child about their full life story, rather than dictate legal custody.
The judges referenced Israeli law, including surrogacy regulations, egg donation laws, and civil registry statutes, as well as Jewish legal interpretations, to support their decision. “Just as a fetus is not removed from the womb of a gestational mother, so too should a newborn not be taken from her hands. The nurturing womb and the embracing arms of the birth mother are one and the same,” the ruling stated.
The court also determined that the woman’s partner should be recognized as Sophia’s legal father, based on his parental connection to the birth mother. The judges further ruled that it was in Sophia’s best interest to remain with the only parents she has ever known, citing her medical and developmental challenges and the potential irreversible harm that could result from severing that bond.
At the same time, the court emphasized the importance of ensuring Sophia learns about her origins in an age-appropriate manner, as recommended by professional experts. The welfare authorities will oversee a structured plan to facilitate ongoing contact between the child and her biological parents while maintaining legal parental rights solely with the couple raising her.
The case stems from an IVF embryo mix-up at Assuta Medical Center, which came to light in September 2022 when genetic testing revealed no biological connection between the couple and the fetus the woman was carrying. The revelation exposed significant procedural failures at the fertility clinic, ultimately leading to a legal battle over parental rights after Sophia’s birth and the subsequent identification of her biological parents.