The family court of Rishon Lezion allowed the publication of news that the biological parents of a baby by the name of Sophia were located on Thursday. The identity of the biological parents remains withheld from publication.
Attorney Galit Kerner, who represents the biological parents in the case, told Walla! upon the approval of the publication order in the “Assuta Rishon Lezion” case: “Unfortunately, I cannot provide more details about the ongoing legal process, and I hope that due to great public interest, IVF patients will be convinced otherwise in the next stage of the procedure.”
About a year and a half ago, it was discovered that the embryos of a patient couple at Assuta Medical Center in Rishon Lezion were inserted into the womb of another patient. The hospital claimed that it knew who the biological mother was and requested a parentage order from the court, which was granted – but these were not the parents.
The question of baby Sophia's parentage
Due to defects in the baby’s heart, the pregnant woman underwent several surgeries while the baby was still in the womb. After she was born, baby Sophia underwent additional surgeries and was hospitalized for a month at Sheba Hospital.
Sophia’s birth parents registered her as their daughter and are raising her with great love and care, but other patients at the hospital continued to fight over her and asked for a DNA test to determine Sophia’s parentage.
The arguments reached the High Court, which overturned the decision of the two lower courts and stated that no more tests would be conducted and that Sophia would be raised by her biological parents.
A month after the court’s decision. A report by the Health Ministry inspection committee found one couple to most likely be Sophia’s biological parents. After this finding, the court reversed the decision and ordered the test to be carried out to determine parentage.
The truth revealed
The couple who requested the test delayed it for over three weeks until the judge reprimanded them and requested they perform the test within three days. After receiving the results, it was revealed that they were the biological parents and requested custody of Sophia.
The judges will have to take into account that there is an existing case of embryo exchange at Assuta Medical Center, whereby a 4-year-old boy was found to not be his father's biological son. Therefore, the court's decision will set a legal precedent that will affect other similar cases such as this one.