Over the last week or so I began seeing online articles for what I prayed was just a horrible joke or perhaps even some made-up story to serve as click-bait. But, unfortunately, the story of a woman suing a sperm bank for having a biracial baby is true. As I read a number of articles and watched interview after interview of this woman, not a single statement made could change the insult and disgust that I felt from this situation from the beginning.
Considering that this woman, Jennifer Cramblett, is in a homosexual relationship, I would assume that she fully understands the difficult and harsh reality that having children can be for everyone. Cramblett has been given an incredible gift through modern-day medicine, which allowed her to conceive a child through donated sperm. Not only was this an option to Cramblett, she was also able to select the traits of the donor that she considered favorable for her child. While other people have the option of choosing whom they wish to procreate with, there are a lot of elements that are still out of their control. For example, sharing a mutual desire to procreate. This was not an issue for Cramblett because there was a slew of options provided by the sperm bank. The issue was that the sperm bank sent her vials of sperm that she did not request. This mistake was as small as mixing up the numbers 330 and 380, an easy mistake to make considering the sperm bank’s handwritten record keeping. This mix-up changed Cramblett and her partner’s lives forever.
Cramblett and her partner, Amanda Zinkon, discovered the mix up five months into their pregnancy when requesting more vials and now, two years later, they are suing the sperm bank. Cramblett has cited that she deals with anxiety and stress when thinking of how her child will be treated in their 97 percent white community, bringing up the question of why would they have wanted to raise any child in a community that is not reflective of how diverse our country, let alone our world is. She also stated that she was not prepared to raise a child of a biracial background and has had to research and seek help from others for information on how to do things as simple as her child’s hair. These complaints sound like nothing more than whining about things that come along with the territory of parenting. Many other parents deal with the same issues every day, but I have to add that they don’t have anyone to hold accountable or to sue for damages.
Cramblett and her partner did receive a refund for the vials, though not for the procedure, along with a letter of apology for the lackluster service that they received from the sperm bank. But Cramblett says that the case has been filed so that the sperm bank is held accountable and so that someone else does not have to deal with this situation. While I can understand her frustration and agree that the handwritten record keeping should be changed, mistakes do happen. I do not think that the sperm bank handled the situation in the best way possible, but I do believe that everything happens for a reason and this woman was given a healthy, bi-racial child for a reason.
Cramblett said that not all of her friends and family are “racially sensitive” and that she hadn’t encountered any African-American people until she entered college. It disgusts me to think of the life that their child would have had if the couple had the child with the racial identity that they desired. Being a white child growing up in an all-white community with racially intolerant views would only further perpetuate division and prejudice in society, the very same prejudice that she now worries her child will experience. I cringe at the thought of their child growing up and learning of this lawsuit. What message does this send to their child? I can’t imagine the impending identity crisis that this child is sure to have. I sincerely hope this case is thrown out and these parents can find a love for their child that surpasses the mistakes made by the sperm bank so that they can give their child as normal and loving a life as possible.
Erynn Williams is a junior majoring in interdisciplinary studies. Her column runs biweekly.
