photo courtesy of Unsplash
A friend brought this article to my attention and I thought to share it with you – An IVF Mixup, a Shocking Discovery, and an Unbearable Choice. It came out on the NY Times website this week and will be in the Sunday Magazine. You can also listen to it.
(If you don’t subscribe to the NYTimes, you can use this link.)
This, like last week’s story, shows how tender, significant, and complicated our family relationships are. I am in awe of how the two families arranged themselves for the sake of love and for loyalty. The article made me ask, “What does it mean to be a parent? What does it mean to be a sibling?” I thought it also asked, “How do we define family? Can perfect strangers become family – by circumstance?”
I also thought it was interesting that, as is often the case in family law, the legal case has so little to do with the actual reality. The couples could sue the IVF clinic but no matter how much money they got, they still had to make some impossible decisions.
Both families in this story are amazing – particularly the mothers. And they go to extraordinary lengths to provide the most loving lives for their children.
Have a great week.