‘A VERY TOUCHY SUBJECT’

Couple Forced to Give Up Babies in Embryo Mix-Up Settles With Clinic

The “unimaginable mishap” led to the woman giving birth to the babies of complete strangers—and then having to give them up.

A New York City couple that had the wrong embryos implanted at a California fertility clinic and subsequently had the babies of complete strangers has settled their lawsuit over the “unimaginable mishap.”

The pair had splashed out $100,000 for treatment at the CHA Fertility Clinic, leading to a successful pregnancy that they say they were told would bring them twin girls. But when the wife, identified in court papers only as A.P., gave birth in March 2019, she had twin boys.

In their July 2019 lawsuit, the couple said they immediately knew something was wrong, as the babies were not of Asian descent like both parents. After carrying both babies for eight months and giving birth to them, the husband and wife said they then had to go through the anguish of handing the babies over to their biological parents, two couples who had also received treatment at the clinic and had their embryos misplaced in the mix-up.

They said they were so traumatized by the whole fiasco that they “could not find the courage and the way to tell others about their devastating loss.” After reaching a $200,000 settlement with physician Joshua Berger in October, lawyers for the pair and for the clinic notified the judge this week that they’d reached a settlement in the case, according to documents filed in a California federal court.

The sum was not disclosed, and the settlement has yet to be finalized. Dae Lee, the couple’s attorney, told the New York Post the matter is “still a very touchy subject for them.” They reportedly still have no idea what happened to their embryos.

Anni and Ashot Manukyan, one of the other couples whose baby was unwittingly birthed by the New York City mother, also filed a federal lawsuit in 2019, alleging that the clinic put them through “living hell.” The case was dismissed in March 2020 after a tentative settlement was reached.

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Allison QuinnNews Editor

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