Parenthood, IVF, and a Tragic Mistake
A story of 2 couples that fought over the same baby
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The Judgement of King Solomon
One of the most famous stories in the Bible is the Judgement of King Solomon. Two women claim to be the mother of the same child and King Solomon offers to cut the baby into two halves. When one woman cries out against it and is willing to give up the baby as long as no harm comes to him, King Solomon declared that she is the real mother.
It’s a story that highlights the wisdom of the king, his wit, and his problem-solving capabilities but the story of Solomon’s judgment also highlights a question that has been asked for thousands of years; Who is a parent? How do we define parenthood? In the case of Solomon, love and care for the baby were the defining factors. Now, with technology being as evolved as it is, it’s even more complicated.
Discovery
This story started in September 2022. An 8-month-pregnant woman and her husband discovered that their baby had a problem with her heart and would need urgent fetal surgery. This is a high-risk procedure for the fetuses and the woman carrying it, but the doctors explained that there isn’t any other choice.
As part of the preparation for the procedure, the woman and the baby had to undergo genetic tests. The surgery was successful, but when the results of the tests came back it shockingly showed that the woman who was carrying the baby is not her biological mother. Thinking there was a mistake, the hospital rerun the test, and again, no genetic connection between the baby and the woman who was carrying it was found. The husband then had genetic tests as well and same as his wife was found to have no biological connection to the baby.
Mistake
The couple, in their mid-40s, was trying to get pregnant for years. Hopeful, they started In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatments in the “Asuta center — Rishon Letzion”, one of the most popular and well-respected medical centers in Israel.
The process itself is very common, an egg is taken from the woman and is then fertilized by the man’s sperm in a controlled and monitored laboratory environment. The fertilized egg is then returned to…
