Hans Brinker..whither art thou?

[Carleton Hughes]

Remember the Dutch boy who stuck his finger in the dyke?......

Lesbian Couple Sue IVF Doctor

Updated: 07:13, Friday September 21, 2007
A lesbian couple in Australia who only wanted one child through IVF treatment are suing their doctor - because they ended up having twins.

The two women are seeking around £170,000 in damages and want the money to help pay for the cost of raising the second child, including private school fees.

The non-identical twins are now three years old and the couple insist they told obstetrician Robert Armellin they wanted just one child.

But Mr Armellin's lawyer, Kim Burke, said the lesbian mother only said she wanted a single embryo implanted minutes before the procedure, when she was already in the operating theatre.

Ms Burke told Canberra Supreme Court that the woman had earlier signed a form indicating that up to two embryos could be transferred - but the lawyer admitted staff should have acted on the last-minute request.

One Australian senator, Guy Barnett, wants same-sex couples and unmarried women to be banned from having access to publicly-funded IVF services.
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But the couple, who cannot be named for legal reasons, hit back, saying: "This has never been a case about whether our children are loved. They are cherished."

The court in the capital heard that the pair's relationship suffered from the stress of twin parenthood and that the birth mother had changed after giving birth.

Ms Burke said Mr Armellin was a consultant specialist at the Canberra Fertility Clinic where the procedure was carried out, not the director, and was not responsible for the system in place.

The court has issued a gagging order on the identity of the women, who used donor sperm from a Danish doctor for the IVF treatment in 2003 which resulted in the birth of twin girls.

The civil case, the first of its kind in Australia, has led to a new moral debate about the value of children and role of parents ahead of national elections soon.

[Dee8go]

That's great! Dutch boy sticking his finger in the dyke! Ha, ha, ha! Good one Carleton.