Talk About A Mix Up, Fertility appears to be Skin Deep

This next story really bothers me and not for the reasons one may think. Today's New York Daily News denotes a harrowing tale that really was bound to happen. In a nutshell, a Long Island couple (the male is White and the female is Latin) in their quest to have a second child with the aid of a Manhattan fertility clinic, discovered that their child is of African-American heritage and therefore not related to the father. The mother is a dark hued Latina-Dominican, specifically. The parents (family photo above) are suing the clinic in question and rightfully so. But what concerns me about this matter is the wording of the lawsuit's allegations as espoused by the parents. Here are the allegations according to the News, "While we love Baby Jessica as our own, we are reminded of this terrible mistake each and every time we look at her. It is simply impossible to ignore." The parents further state, "We fear that our daughter will be the object of scorn and ridicule by other children, both in school and as she grows up."

I think that it is appropriate for the couple to seek recompense as the child's appearance coupled with several DNA tests confirmed their suspicions, but is it realistic that the child would be ridiculed? Unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, the child's complexion is minimally darker than the mother's and if the father was expecting any child to have his skin tone, that would have been a crap shoot at best-his union was with a woman of color. There could have easily been a mix-up with sperm in this case and the biological father could have been another White person-the tell-tale sign of dark skin would have been missing (and so would a lawsuit). When will Black people stand up and take back their rich and proud history so that Blackness being perceived as a defect dissipates. I'm looking at a clearly multi-racial family which is what this society is becoming and yet this child is quickly getting a lesson in racial animus.....from her parent's own insecurity. What would have been acceptable relating to this issue is simply a mistake was made...period. The skin color issue is compounded and treated like the child is diseased. Matter of fact, I suspect that if the child did have an ailment and not Black, more respect would have been granted to the toddler. When will the madness end? Click on the links below for more on this story.

Park Avenue Fertility Clinic in Hot Water

What a mess, baby