March 12--A DuPage County judge Friday again dismissed a lawsuit brought by an Ohio woman who gave birth to a mixed-race child because of an error at a Downers Grove sperm bank.
Judge Ronald Sutter, for the second time, dismissed a civil claim filed on behalf of Jennifer Cramblett, though the judge's dismissal without prejudice of three lawsuit counts means Cramblett still has some legal options. Her attorney said additional action was likely.
"We're disappointed in the judge's decision, but we'll keep at it," Thomas Intili, Cramblett's attorney, said after the hearing.
The Canton-area woman was artificially inseminated with donor sperm she and her same-sex partner ordered from the Midwest Sperm Bank. Cramblett, 37, who is white, delivered "an obviously mixed-race baby girl" in 2012, according to her suit. She ordered sample No. 380 from the Midwest Sperm Bank, which shipped sample No. 330, which came from an African-American donor.
She filed a lawsuit seeking damages but has been rebuffed twice in DuPage County. In September, the judge dismissed Cramblett's first lawsuit, saying it could not proceed under a "wrongful birth" claim alleged in the suit, but the judge said Cramblett could refile under a negligence claim
In his latest action, Sutter dismissed most counts in the refiled suit, many of which sought damages under alleged violations of federal standards intended to ensure that tissue samples are free of disease.
"That doesn't apply to the situation we have here," the judge said.
But Sutter said Cramblett could potentially refile, by possibly alleging a breach of contract or warranty.
In her suit, Cramblett said she has "limited cultural competency" around people of color and has incurred costs for counseling. Her attorney said Cramblett recently moved from her small town of 700 to the nearby area of Canton, in order to raise her daughter in more diverse surroundings.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
