In a serious mix-up with permanent ramifications, an Ohio woman has filed suit against a sperm bank in Akron, OH for mistakenly giving her and her same-sex partner sperm from a Black donor.
Jennifer Cramblett of Uniontown, OH gave birth to a beautiful mixed-race girl on August 21, 2012 alongside her same-sex partner, much to their collective shock. Cramblett and her partner are both white, and had allegedly requested sperm from a white donor but were given a Black man’s sperm by mistake.
Cramblett previously sued back in 2012 in an Illinois court, but the case was dismissed last September. In the earlier suit, she stated that she loved the little girl, but she was concerned about raising the child in her family and community, which she claims are a bit racially intolerant. She claims that this development was just too much for her family to handle, since her family already had trouble accepting the fact that she was a lesbian.
She alleges that the sperm bank was in breach of their contract and had violated FDA regulations. She also claims that the mix-up was likely due to inefficient record-keeping, with records being kept on paper rather than electronically. She believes they simply misread the donor number and selected the wrong vial after going through the long process of selecting a donor she and her partner felt was suitable.
For the mix-up, she is seeking over $150,000 in damages, according to the lawsuit. The suit claims that she:
“Is now facing numerous challenges and external pressures associated with an unplanned transracial parent-child relationship for which she was not, and is not, prepared.”
While it was certainly a mix-up on the sperm bank’s part, and Cramblett may be entitled to compensation, we have to think about the child. Hopefully the child will still receive the love and respect she deserves.
Featured image is by Philippe Put via Flickr, available under a Creative Commons 2.0 license.
