A lawsuit has been filed by a Central Florida couple against a fertility clinic after discovering that the baby born to them in December is not their genetic child. According to WESH, the couple, identified under pseudonyms John and Jane Doe for their privacy, underwent in vitro fertilization at IVF Life, Inc. D/B/A Fertility Center of Orlando under the care of Dr. Milton McNichol, M.D. The child, referred to as Baby Doe in the court documents, was born via a procedure intending to use the couple's own egg and sperm, but genetic testing revealed that the baby has "no genetic relationship to either of the Plaintiffs," according to claims in the lawsuit.
Both parents are identified as racially Caucasian, but they became suspicious when the newborn didn't share their racial characteristics. "Tragically, while both Jane Doe and John Doe are racially Caucasian, Baby Doe displayed the physical appearance of a racially non-Caucasian child," the lawsuit details, reported by Clickorlando. This led to the genetic testing, which confirmed their suspicions. The Does are now deeply troubled by not only this revelation but also by that of someone else possibly raising their biological child.
In response to their findings, the Does approached the Fertility Center of Orlando for answers and to arrange the uniting of the baby with her biological parents. According to court filings cited by ClickOrlando, the clinic has not provided a substantive response to the couple's concerns. The plaintiffs are now seeking emergency relief, pressing the clinic to notify all potentially affected patients, cover costs for genetic testing for past clients, and disclose any further discrepancies in the parentage of children born through the clinic's services over the past five years.
The full lawsuit can be accessed via the News 6 site for those wishing to review the public records.
