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Couple sues IVF doctor when they get twins

Posted on Sep 18th 2007 6:30PM by Bethany Sanders

Filed Under: Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment

An Australian couple who went through infertility treatments to become pregnant were so devastated when they found out they were having twins, they even considered giving one of the babies up for adoption. They've taken their doctor to court and is suing him for the cost of raising the second child, or roughly $332,000 U.S. dollars. They say that they were clear in their desire only to have one child and that the embryologist on her case knowingly implanted two, resulting in the twins birth.

Their anger is justified; a doctor who knowingly ignores your requests should definitely be held accountable, but I'm not really sure what to think about their very strong reaction. What about you?

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2 Comment

Tags: Australia, infertility treatments, InfertilityTreatments, IVF

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Yvonne 9-18-2007 @ 7:04PM

As a somewhat educated person, I understand that they usually - if not always - implant more embryos than babies desired in the hope that even one holds - multiple births are quite the norm and should be kind of expected. Would they have sued if they didn't get pregnant at all?

Who would they have sued if they were able to get pregnant with no help and found out they were having twins??? What if the technician had only implanted one but it split? Or would they have said not to implant it if the doctors were able to tell the couple the embryo had divided already?

How would they choose which child to keep and which to give up? What are their children going to think when and if they ever hear this story? Are they going to sue for the cost of the counseling they'll need too?

As a childless 42 year old woman, you can imagine all of the other thoughts swimming through my head that I won't say here. I only pray that this couple realize what a blessing they have been given.

Chris 9-19-2007 @ 1:31AM

When we did our IVF, our doctor was *very* clear on risks, the probabilities, the number of embryos we had available, and the number he recommended implanting. We could, and strongly considered, going with fewer. The best, fresh, embryos have roughly a 30% chance of going to the second trimester (which is when the IVF doctor signs off). Put two in, and you have a 50% chance of getting pregnant. Lower quality embryos (judged by number of cells and other factors), have even lower chances. Given that it takes months between attempts, the urge to implant more than one at a time is very strong.

I understand that it is illegal in the UK to implant more than one at a time. Though I don't agree with that law, it makes sense to me.

Another story: about the time we were going through this, an IVF doctor was sues for fertilizing the eggs with his own sperm. There's good and bad doctors out there. If the doctor put in two embryos against their wishes, he is a very bad doctor. As sad as I feel for the children, there is a world of difference between having one child and twins. If the doctor was willfully negligent, he deserves to pay through the nose.