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 Rachel Cook
Two women are suing a Canberra obstetrician because one of them became pregnant with twins, after two embryos were implanted instead of the requested one.
In what is believed to be the first case of its kind in the ACT, the former Canberra woman and her partner are suing Sydney obstetrician and gynaecologist Robert Armellin for the wrongful birth of one of their twin girls, now aged three, claiming more than $400,000 for the cost of raising her to the age 21.
The birth mother, who signed a consent form agreeing to be implanted with two embryos, said she was told she could change her mind on the day of the procedure. She told the court hearing the case that she advised the doctor just prior to being sedated, that she only wanted one embryo implanted, not two.
The case has garnered widespread condemnation in the media, leading to Tasmanian Liberal senator Guy Barnett (pictured) calling for access to IVF to be limited to heterosexual couples.
“Every child that comes into the world should reasonably expect the care and affection of a mother and a father, ” Barnett told News.com.au.
Spokesperson for the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group, Rodney Croome, responded by saying, “A few years ago, when a heterosexual couple sued their doctor because a botched vasectomy left them with a child they hadn’t planned for, there was no outcry declaring them ‘selfish parents.’”
“This issue is about professional medical practices, not gay parenting.”
The case will be decided next month.
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