A Massachusetts couple has aborted a baby at 6 months and is suing their IVF clinic after discovering that the baby was not related to them. Similar mix-ups of embryos have occurred to Irish couples using commercial surrogacy services abroad, an Oireachtas Committee heard last week.

The unnamed couple in the US already had three children but wanted four. They consulted the Manhattan-based New York Fertility Clinic, went through the standard procedures and the woman became pregnant. However, at about 3 months, a test revealed that the developing embryo was not theirs. Doctors at the clinic said that they thought that the test was wrong, so the couple consulted an independent embryologist who confirmed after amniocentesis that the embryo was unrelated.

The couple then decided to abort the baby because they didn’t want a potential custody battle. Abortions are allowed in New York and Massachusetts up to 24 weeks, but they managed to have the abortion a few days before it would have become illegal.