And I. DON’T. BLAME. HER.
Not one bit.
A white Ohio woman is suing a Downers Grove-based sperm bank, alleging that the company mistakenly gave her vials from an African-American donor, a fact that she said has made it difficult for her and her same-sex partner to raise their now 2-year-old daughter in an all-white community.
Jennifer Cramblett, of Uniontown, Ohio, alleges in the lawsuit filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court that Midwest Sperm Bank sent her the vials of an African-American donor’s sperm in September 2011 instead of those of a white donor that she and her white partner had ordered.
After searching through pages of comprehensive histories for their top three donors, the lawsuit claims, Cramblett and her domestic partner, Amanda Zinkon, chose donor No. 380, who was also white. Their doctor in Ohio received vials from donor No. 330, who is African-American, the lawsuit said.
Cramblett, 36, learned of the mistake in April 2012, when she was pregnant and ordering more vials so that the couple could have another child with sperm from the same donor, according to the lawsuit. The sperm bank delivered vials from the correct donor in August 2011, but Cramblett later requested more vials, according to the suit.
Cramblett is suing Midwest Sperm Bank for wrongful birth and breach of warranty, citing the emotional and economic losses she has suffered.
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It’s easy to call this woman racist. I get it. But this is how I see it.
I, Tasha, go to a sperm bank and make a specific request for a specific donor’s sperm. I choose a black donor because…I want a black child. For whatever reason, it’s MY reason. And I have the right to make the request. Seeing as though I made that request, and you were negligent in said request, I have the right to react.
Does this mean I won’t love my child? Nope. But this woman has valid concerns.
Raising a mixed-race daughter has been stressful in Cramblett and Zinkon’s small, all-white community, according to the suit. Cramblett was raised around people with stereotypical attitudes about nonwhites, the lawsuit states, and did not know African-Americans until she attended college at the University of Akron.
“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.
Part of that learning curve has included getting her daughter’s hair cut, which according to the suit requires Cramblett to travel to a black neighborhood, “where she is obviously different in appearance, and not overtly welcome.”
She fears that her “all white and unconsciously insensitive family,” which has never been able to fully embrace Jennifer’s homosexuality, could have a negative effect on her daughter, according to the lawsuit.
Is there anything wrong with biracial children? ABSOLUTELY NOT. But should that be FORCED upon someone? Nope. She is fully aware of her situation with her environment and family, and doesn’t want that to affect her daughter. And I believe she has the right to express that.
Given her circumstance, who would want to be FORCED into dealing with that situation, without their consent/knowledge?
So yeah, no. I don’t think this woman is being racist. I think her concerns are valid. Now, as far as the legal merit to her lawsuit, I don’t know. But I can definitely see what brought her there.
On the flip side, however, her daughter is probably going to have to find out that there was a lawsuit…mainly because she’s half black. That could be very damaging.
For the full lawsuit, click here.
{featured image via sperm-donors-worldwide.com}
P.S. Let me say this. I don’t know if this woman is racist. I have no idea. All I am saying is that her reaction and the lawsuit, in and of itself, does not scream racism (TO ME). Unfortunately, I believe the child is going to suffer no matter the outcome. And that’s sad.
