September 30th, 2009Two women, living about 100 miles apart, both experiencing fertility problems, are now forever bonded in a cruel twist of fate. After years of trying to conceive on their own, Carolyn Savage of Sylvania, Ohio, and Shannon Morell, living in Troy, Michigan, both got pregnant through in vitro fertilization and had babies within a year of each other. Both had leftover embryos from their in vitro procedure which they decided to freeze for future use.
Carolyn Savage was implanted with another couple's embryo. (Poole/AP)
When Carolyn conceived again through in vitro fertilization, with what was supposed to be her miracle baby, she and her husband, Sean, were happy to be adding once again to their family. For Carolyn, who had suffered from HELLP syndrome, a rare form of pre-eclampsia, during one of her previous pregnancies in addition to three miscarriages, it would be the last chance she would have to carry another child. On the day she received the happy news, she also received some of the most devastating news of her life — that the baby she was carrying was not hers. She had mistakenly been implanted with the wrong embryos. Carolyn recalls, “I was yelling, ‘No, no, no!’ It was as if I was running away from my own body. The idea that the baby in me wasn’t mine — I just could not believe it.”
Carolyn was soon given the option to either abort the child or carry the pregnancy to term with the knowledge that she would be required to turn the baby over to the Morells. The Morells panicked, fearing she would choose to abort the baby. Shannon describes her emotions, “The whole world stopped for me right then…I was livid, shocked, sad, totally helpless.” Catholics, Carolyn and Sean chose to carry the child, a boy, to term. The families have met once and continue to carry on a relationship via email. Although the Morells agreed to allow the Savages some time to take some pictures with the baby after he is born, there are no plans to co-parent the child. Carolyn has said, “They are the intended parents. We just want to know he’s happy and healthy.”
On Thursday, September 24, Carolyn gave birth to the baby boy, who weighed in at 5 lbs. and 3 oz. and was 18 inches long. The birth took place at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio. The Savages have requested privacy during the next few days to deal with the situation. They also issued a statement offering their “…heartfelt congratulations to the Morell family on the birth of their son. We wish Paul, Shannon, their twin girls and their new baby boy the best, as they move forward with their lives together.” In their statement, the Morells say they are “eternally grateful” to Carolyn Savage, and call Carolyn their son’s guardian angel. They also state, “We’re thrilled that our family is now complete.”
As for the Savages, they have decided to try their luck at having another child and have already arranged for a surrogate to be implanted with their remaining frozen embryos. They have also hired attorneys to make sure the fertility clinic remains accountable for their mistake.
While having mistaken embryos implanted is not an occurance normally heard of, it has happened before. Susan Buchweitz of Campbell, California had the same thing happen to her. After learning her 10-month-old son was the result of another couple’s embryo, and that they wanted custody of the child, she sued the clinic. She was awarded $1 million, and the doctor lost his license. While the situation for the Savages and the Morells ended amicably, the case was not so for Buchweitz, who now shares custody with the other couple.
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I just have to say, that this is just another example of why we shouldn’t play God. I find it completely ironic that throughout much of the media Carolyn’s “Catholic” faith is cited as the reason why she did not abort the child. I wish someone would have instructed her that in vitro is also going against her Catholic faith. In fact, the entire reason why the Catholic Church is against in vitro is because fertilized eggs are not always given the chance at life by being frozen indefinitely or becoming part of a research. The same principle–life begins at conception–the governs the Catholic Church’s stance on abortion is the exact same principle that governs its stance on in vitro fertilization.
It’s a controversial topic, that’s for sure. I will say that from what I’ve learned, the reason Carolyn was trying to get pregnant again was in order to give her and her husband’s remaining three frozen embryos a chance at life. Since she’s unable to carry another child, they have contracted a surrogate to be implanted with their remaining embryos, so they still will have a chance at life. I’m not saying that all couples use all of their frozen embryos, and the question about what to do with them is a hot issue.
My heart is broken for all involved…both sets of parents and the child.
May God be with all of them.
Fertility Clinics really helped a lot in getting my wife to conceive a child. Just make sure you get a reliable one.-`”