An Ohio woman is suing a sperm bank claiming she was accidentally inseminated with sperm from a black donor and is now forced to raise her biracial child in a racist community.
In the lawsuit reported by the Chicago Tribune, Jennifer Cramblett claims the lab mix-up has caused her and her partner added stress and anxiety as they struggle to raise their 2-year-old biracial daughter, Payton, in their “racially intolerant” community of Uniontown, Ohio.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court, alleges that Midwest Sperm Bank gave her the vials of an African-American donor’s sperm in September 2011, even though she and her partner had picked out sperm from a white donor.
The lawsuit says they received vials from African-American donor No. 330, instead of sperm from white donor No. 380. The mix-up occurred because the hospital keeps handwritten records, which were likely misread, the lawsuit alleges.
Cramblett, 36, didn’t know about the error until she was already pregnant in April 2012 and decided to order more vials from the same donor, so she could have another child with her partner. She called up the sperm bank and was informed that the vials she received earlier were from a different donor than the one they had requested.
She’s now suing the sperm bank for wrongful birth and breach of warranty because of the “emotional distress” and “economic and non-economic losses” she’s endured.
“On August 21, 2012, Jennifer gave birth to Payton, a beautiful, obviously mixed-race baby girl,” the lawsuit states. “Jennifer bonded with Payton easily and she and Amanda love her very much. Even so, Jennifer lives each day with fears, anxieties and uncertainty about her future and Payton’s future.”
Many of these fears stem from the fact that Payton is growing up in an intolerant neighborhood with an all-white family, the lawsuit says.
“Because of this background and upbringing, Jennifer acknowledges her limited cultural competency relative to African-Americans and steep learning curve, particularly in small, homogenous Uniontown, which she regards as too racially intolerant,” the lawsuit states.
The mother also complains that in order to get her daughter’s hair cut, she has to travel to a black neighborhood, “where she is obviously different in appearance, and not overtly welcome.”
She’s also worried that her biracial daughter will feel stigmatized around her “all white and unconsciously insensitive family,” which has never been able to fully embrace Jennifer’s homosexuality, according to the lawsuit.
“Though compelled to repress her individuality amongst family members, Payton’s differences are irrepressible, and Jennifer does not want Payton to feel stigmatized or unrecognized due simply to the circumstances of her birth,” the lawsuit states. “Jennifer’s stress and anxiety intensify when she envisions Payton entering an all-white school.”
Cramblett’s therapists have advised her that for her and her child’s psychological well-being, she must relocate to a racially diverse community with good schools, according to the suit.
