A dramatic appeal was filed Tuesday morning in District Court in Lod in the case of a high-profile mix-up at an Israeli IVF clinic, two days after the family court ordered the transfer of the baby Sophia from the couple that has been raising her since birth to her biological parents. Along with the appeal, a request was also submitted to delay the execution of the judgment.
In the letter of appeal obtained by Ynet, lawyers Galit Kerner, an expert in medical negligence, and Yonathan Kanir, an expert in family law, claim that Sophia 's transfer to her biological parents is "a wrongful and outrageous act." The attorneys represent the family that has raised the baby and the birth mother, into whose womb the embryo of the genetic parents was mistakenly implanted.
"The parents who gave birth to Sophia and are raising her never agreed that anyone would take her from them," the appeal states. The appellants seek to delay both the change in the registry of the parents' identity and the physical transfer of the baby.
Criticism of the verdict focuses on several aspects: apparent disregard of serious claims, prevention of submission of important evidentiary material, and rejection of significant evidence. The appellants also criticize the professional opinion submitted in the procedure and the tests that preceded its preparation.
According to them, the consent of the parents raising the toddler to carry out genetic tests did not indicate an intention to give up their parentage. According to the ruling, the transfer of the baby should take place within 60 days, unless the court accepts the appellants' request.
The case began in September 2022 when a genetic test revealed that a woman undergoing IVF was carrying an embryo unrelated to her or her partner.
Before the child’s birth, an investigative team at Assuta initially identified another patient as the likely genetic mother. However, legal proceedings later confirmed that she had no genetic link to the baby.
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
The investigation found that the mix-up likely occurred during the embryo transfer process, when two patients were scheduled back-to-back. As a result, embryos intended for one woman were mistakenly implanted in another.
About a year and a half after the birth of the baby, her genetic parents were located, who demanded that she be transferred to their custody.