A lesbian woman in Australia is suing her doctor after she gave birth to twins through in-vitro fertilization (IVF).
The 40-year-old woman, who cannot be identified because of a court order, had testified in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory on Tuesday that she told her doctor, obstetrician Robert Armellin, that she only wanted one child.
But a lawyer for Armellin said Thursday the woman only said she wanted a single embryo implanted minutes before the procedure, when she was already in the operating room and after she had signed a form indicating that up to two embryos could be transferred.
And because the staff did not follow up on the last-minute request, an embryologist under the doctor's supervision implanted two embryos in her uterus, resulting in the birth of non-identical twin girls.
The woman told the court that she and her female partner were devastated when they learned she was carrying twins. They even considered putting one of the babies up for adoption.
Although the couple together makes over $82,875, the woman is seeking $329,000 to cover the expense of raising one child until age 21.
The civil case, the first of its kind in Australia, has prompted debate about the value of children and role of parents.
"The litigation involving twins already three years old undermines the importance of parenthood," conservative government Senator Guy Barnett said on Thursday, according to Reuters.
"We seem more intent on preserving and pandering to the wishes of adults, than we are in protecting the rights of children," he added.
Barnett has called for the banning of same-sex couples and unmarried women from access to publicly-funded IVF services, sparking a new moral debate ahead of national elections, due at any time.
Speaking as a parent of twin children, Lyle Shelton, the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL)’s national chief-of-staff, says that even though the birth of an extra child has brought extra cost to his family, it nevertheless was a blessing from God.
Giving his personal account, Shelton recalled the tremendous joy he and his wife felt in having one more child, though it was unplanned and despite having two young children at that time.
“When I found out I got an extra child … it was a blessing,” Shelton said. “Yes, there were additional expenses and work but the fact was I still love the extra child.
“I think this is the way most parents will view the situation,” he continued, “and the approach of this lesbian couple is in stark contrast to the way most normal families will view the situation.”
According to Shelton, there were two major problems in this case. First is asserting that parenting right should be given to homosexual couples, as the ACL believes the fundamental right of the child should trump that of the couple.
Society should not facilitate this type of family situation of denying a mother and a father to the child, he said.
The second problem, Shelton said, is the damage that may come to the child of the lesbian couple, who will realize that she was unwanted and seen as a burden to both her “mothers” – a burden that needs to be compensated for.
This was absolutely abhorrent, Shelton said, noting that the child would inevitably find out she was a “disappointment” as she grew up.
The lesbian couple is seeking more than $300,000 in compensation from the doctor who had performed their IVF treatment, suing for the “wrongful birth of a child.”
Furthermore, the mother's partner said their relationship is now in jeopardy because the mother no longer has the same ability to love her as she used to, Australia's National Nine News reported. The birth of the second child allegedly had a negative effect on the mother's ability to love.
"She always said that she had a big heart filled with love," the mother's partner said of her before the Supreme Court Wednesday, according to Australia-based The Age. "I find [now] that she doesn't have the same ability to love that she used to and the same capacity to, I guess, embrace differences and issues as a couple or as a team."
And although the couple is undergoing relationship counseling, the partner said it did not feel that the relationship would survive, National Nine reported.
The woman also said that her partner had felt angry and desperate once she knew she was carrying twins and that she had hoped one embryo would just go away.
Christian Post correspondent Sze Leng Chan in Canberra, Australia, contributed to this report.
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I wish that it were possible for the government to take the twins and allow them to be adopted by loving parents. It is not fair to the children to do otherwise.
IVF is intrinsically evil and that fact that the women are lesbians is even worse. Gays and lesbians fight for the "right" to have children and then sue when they get more than they want. As the saying goes, you give them an inch they complain it isn't a mile.
I agree with imho that the "unwanted" twin will definitely sense that she was a "mistake". She will not be able to make sense of it until years later when she reads about this lawsuit in the news.
Futhermore, I wish I was raised in a home that brought in $82, 000 a year. I couldn't go to Girl Guides because we didn't have enough money.
I think I'll sue my mother and my dead father because of the irreparable damage that caused me.
Seems to me that their relationship is falling through the cracks and they want to get something out of it while at the same time placing the blame on something (or someone) other than themselves. After three years, you'd think they would be grateful for both of "their" children despite what difficulties they went through (Hey! That's parenting for ya! It's not like getting a puppy) Seems to me that they value their relationship more than the children that they were blessed to have been given. $82,000 a year and that's not enough to raise two children? Are you kidding me?
imho, I agree with you on this. Hmmm ... how many men, even good Christian men, can also say 'my wife is kinda run down, she's not as chipper as she used to be because taking care of the kid(s) is a lot of work for her'. But do I hear of any guy suing the doctor just because his wife gave birth? whether single-birth, twins, or triplets?
I, myself, can't quite get my mind arount same-sex couples having children, but they should at least acknowledge that with the blessings of children comes also the work of parenthood. My heart goes out to the children. Maybe this couple just isn't cutout for parenting and both children should adopted by a family ready for children.
I read the local article in our Australian papers a couple of days ago. In spite of the depressing circumstances surrounding the lawsuit, I had to laugh at a couple of things in that article:
"The birth mother's partner told the court ... that at times she felt their relationship would not survive the stress after they learnt they were to have twins."
"'...(the birth mother) was one of the most confident and centred people that I have met,' the partner said.
'She always said that she had a big heart filled with love... I find (now) that she doesn't have the same ability to love that she used to and the same capacity to, I guess, embrace differences and issues as a couple or as a team.'
She said the pair lost their lives functioning as a couple, becoming mired in everyday child-rearing tasks."
REALLY? Parenting is draining and all-consuming? It puts stress on and changes a relationship? Why didn't someone tell them that?! LOL! Sorry, that's a bit sarcastic, I know. But I knew I was in for work when I had kids. Why didnt' they?
Legally, I hate to say it, but they MAY be entitled to compensation. (I do not believe that just because we are entitled to something we should pursue it at any cost, though.) However, the question about paperwork appears to be more a case of administrative bungling than medical malpractice.
Surely, though, some of the burden rests on the mothers? Couldn't the women have insisted that everyone WAIT until they had signed the new form? They knew when the transfer was taking place. They knew that the form was a legal requirement, and they allowed the procedure to go ahead regardless. I feel for the poor judge here!
As for bringing this case to court at all - it's disappointing. First of all, how do you choose which child is receiving the entitlements? It seems that if one child is considered unwanted, so is the other, because there is no way to distinguish between the two. Birth order may not reflect order of implantation. Therefore, it seems that both girls will feel/sense or even KNOW they are unwanted. That is not a burden I would wish on anyone.
Then there's the elephant in the room: These little girls are daughters to lesbians. It's a social experiment, and they're the guinea pigs. Regardless of the quality of parenting they receive, these girls are going to have some issues. And all because their mothers have been, for lack of a better word, selfish.
This lawsuit is just another case of "just because you can doesn't mean you should" on so many levels. I would be equally critical of hetero parents who did the same thing. We should never curse our babies.
This is to me another example of man still waiting to chose his own destiny based on his understanding of the knowledge of good and evil. I see this so much in modern medicine. If man had not decided to determine how and when a woman gets pregnant, instead of leaving that decision in the hands of our Maker, this world would be a lot less complicated and a lot more trusting in God.
Moral perversion and madness have led our society to this.
Seek God while He still can be found!
Children are a gift from God. This is the kind of thing that happens when man tries to take that responsibility upon himself. These women should never have been given this choice to begin with. All one can feel is pity for the children they are raising. If they get a dime, someone should have their head examined.