Ok, so who is the parent.?

Question

I meant who is the mother.?

Who should keep and raise this child.?

Answer 1

Whoever raised her is the mother.  It really doesn't matter whose egg it was.  Biologically, it sounds like it was the first woman's child.  Legally, it sounds like it was the second woman's child.  But, the third woman raised her.  So I think that she's the mom in a very difficult situation.  It wasn't her fault that the fertility clinic screwed up.

Answer 2

Mother-- women 3

legal egg owner-- women 2

bio mother--- women 1

Answer 3

I think the birth certificate should list that the child was conceived from donor egg or sperm or any combination....children need to know the truth. And if you going to go this route (we have chosen not to for our own reasons) you should only choose donors whom will allow their information to be known when the child turns eighteen.....and yes they do have them.

Legally the woman who gives birth is the paren. I know not much of an answer but it just my opinion. I do wonder how many parents intend telling their kids the truth.

Answer 4

Legally speaking, the biological parents (the donors) have already relinquished all rights to their genetic material and any children produced from it, so they cannot claim any parental rights over the child.

The only other parents that may have claim to the baby would be couple number 2 since they had purchased the eggs and sperm and therefore "own" them, although this claim would be tenuous at best. Since the eggs and sperm were essentially superfluous genetic material once the couple were done with them and the usual practice is to destroy them at a certain point in the future anyway, couple number 3 could argue that couple number 2 had no intention for this material to ever become a child of theirs, and indeed it had not, it had become the child of couple number 3.  

An argument could also be made by couple number 3 that egg and sperm donors often make multiple donations and there is no expectation of exclusivity by any couple over the sperm or eggs of any one donor. Couple number 3 could argue that they could well have bought the eggs and sperm from those same donors in a completely separate transaction from couple number 2.

Taking all this into account, I am confident that any judge would decide in favor of couple number 3 being the parents of that particular child, especially in light of the fact that the child was gestated, birthed and has been raised for two years by said couple.

These types of cases are, unfortunately, all too common.  Most of them are never even brought to light.  This type of case is just one of the reasons why assisted reproduction is entirely unethical.

Answer 5

The mother is the one that has raised the baby. Who should keep the baby well obviously the mother that raised the baby not to mention she carried and birthed the baby therefore she is the legal mother and birthmother.  That said the lady who purchased the eggs and sperm could certainly go to court because the fertility clinic messed up.

Fertility mix ups they probably happen more often then people realize. However the  majority of the time they come to light is when the mix up involves a mixed raced child or the child becomes seriously ill in some way during their life.

It wouldn’t be any sort triplet to the twins; it would just be a full blood genetic sibling.

Answer 6

This proves that adoption is a preferred option.

Answer 7

Well, apparently from your description, that baby has a biological mother, a biological father, and a parenting mother.  Also, as an added bonus by inferring that the egg and sperm were owned, there is also an owner to the child and *that* association of phrasing is so offensive.

Answer 8

The third mother should keep her baby. The second mother who "owned" everything should sue or take her problems out on the clinic that did this, not the woman who was unfortunately added by someone else's mistake.

Answer 9

I think the real question here is how ethical is any of this in the first place?  

To get to a point where people have to ask, "Who is the mother" and the answers are all dependent upon how one looks at it, brings into question the ethics of a practice that led to such a question ever arising.

Answer 10

Who is the parent and who is the mother are different questions.  The first and third scenarios are both mothers.  Who is the parent, well and i know i will take heat for this but a parent is an action to parent and thus the parents are really the ones who are raising the child.

Answer 11

The "biological" mother is the egg donor, the "parent" is the woman who carried the children and gave birth.  the biological mother is not the birth mother as she did not give birth, so I guess you could also call the parental mother the birth mother as well! Good question, makes you think about "terms" and labeling in this politically correct society!

Answer 12

I wonder if anyone is going to tell the child the truth.

Poor thing will never know his/her true origins.  :'(

Answer 13

And hence the reason why doctors need to stop playing god and creating children just because someone wants one.