Q&A: The Embryo Case
The Embryo Case
Question
A brief overview: a baby girl born through in vitro fertilization was mistakenly given to different parents, with whom she was raised for over two years. The error was discovered, and genetic testing (ordered by the court) identified the biological parents.
The many dilemmas raised by the question of whether to “return” the baby to her biological parents would be fascinating if they were not so deeply unsettling.
The court has now ruled that she should be transferred to her biological parents. The reasoning is persuasive, but it is hard not to get confused when thinking about the other sides of the dilemma.
This may be too complex a question for a responsum, and perhaps more suitable for a column. I would understand if the answer is: I’m not familiar with the details of the story, or I don’t have the energy to get into this tangle. I simply very much appreciate your philosophical and halakhic analyses, and this is an opportunity to say thank you.
Answer
Discussion on Answer
Or perhaps the compensation should actually be divided among, or imposed entirely on, the medical teams involved.
P.S. The question of how much and how to calculate it is really also the question: is this compensation or payment?
It certainly seems reasonable to compensate them, although from a halakhic standpoint I’m not convinced. A child is not a field, and the field did not improve in value. Maybe one could think in terms of payment as an idle worker for the raising of the child. That is a different question and not the subject of the column. It definitely requires thought.
First, I’m in the middle of reading, and I was right that the Rabbi’s analysis would be thorough and high-quality. Thank you very much!
I skimmed the entire article to see whether you addressed compensating the surrogate, and I didn’t see it.
It seems that the surrogate should be compensated (like someone who goes down to work another person’s field), since the child had a heart defect and they made efforts and expended even more than they would have for another two-year-old child. Do you think compensation is required? How much, and how should it be calculated?