Sperm Swap: White Parents Birth Black Baby
Nancy and Thomas Andrewsa Long Island couple, she Hispanic, he Caucasiangot a little surprise when their daughter Jessica was born in October 2004 and they noticed she was black! But since Jessica arrived with the help of in-vitro fertilization, Thomas didnt have that timeless, my-wifes-an-adulterer defense to fall back on. Instead, it seems a Park Ave. fertility clinic inseminated Nancy with the wrong mans sperm, according to [a lawsuit the couple filed] against New York Medical Services for Reproductive Medicine, headed by Dr. Reginald Puckett, and the embryologist who allegedly mixed up the samples, Carlo Acosta.
When the couple asked their obstetrician, Martin Keltz, what could explain Jessicas darker skin tone, he allegedly told them that her condition was an "[abnormality]," and assured them she would "get lighter over time." Not surprisingly, Nancy and Thomas were skeptical, and so ordered a DNA test, which proved that Jessica was not conceived with Thomas' sperm.
Amongst other concerns, the Andrews fear that the natural father may try to claim rights to Jessica. They also worry that the unnamed African-American donor's sperm may have been used in other inseminations, or that another couple may have gotten Thomas Andrews' sperm.
From [the New York Daily News]: In a decision made public yesterday, State Supreme Court Justice Sheila Abdus-Salaam threw out parts of the couple's lawsuit - including a claim that they had suffered mental distress. The birth of an unwanted but otherwise healthy and normal child does not constitute an injury to the child's parents, Abdus-Salaam wrote. But the judge allowed the malpractice lawsuit to proceed.
And the New York Post reports that court papers reveal that the accused claim they are not legally liable for the sperm mix-up, though they declined to comment.