A California couple is suing a fertility clinic after discovering they gave birth to someone else’s daughter. Apparently, there was a mix-up during their in vitro fertilization procedure in 2019. After a DNA test proved the mistake, the couple returned their baby girl to her genetic parents in return for their genetic daughter, whom they’d never met.

It’s a mind-boggling story about a tragedy made possible by a culture quick to accept technology based on if we can do something instead of whether we should do it.

The focus of the news coverage so far has been on the parents, whom we’re all meant to assume are the story’s victims. While this was certainly heartbreaking for them, no one seems to be asking what this will do to the children. 

However we choose to engage assisted reproductive technologies, we will never do it well if our focus is on adult happiness over and above what is best for the children. Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.