The Supreme Court on Sunday ruled that a baby born after an error in an in vitro fertilization procedure would remain with the mother who gave birth to her and raised her and not her biological parents, upholding the decision of the District court. The justices also ruled that the child's biological parents would be able to have contact with her.
All four justices were in agreement that the child should remain with the parents she knows, but in a minority opinion, Justice Alex Stein said her biological father should be recognized but without any parental rights.
The mistake by the Assuta Medical Center was revealed in September 2022, just two months before her birth, when genetic testing showed that baby Sophia was not biologically related to the mother who had carried her nearly to term or to the mother's partner. An investigation revealed that the hospital had implanted the wrong embryo in the mother. Later testing found the biological parents who sued for custody of the child.
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The lawyers representing the biological parents, Attorneys Shmuel Moran and Noa Glerman Liel, said they received the ruling and were saddened by it. " We are still studying it in depth, as beyond the legal questions it raises, it has significant and severe implications for the child's future and fertility treatments in Israel. Sophia's wellbeing and future remain paramount to her genetic parents, and these principles have guided them from the beginning in their struggle to return her to her biological family.'