Every mother’s biggest fear in life is to have her child ripped away from her. As a society, we typically think of those who kill, steal, kidnap, or abuse children as being the worst society has to offer. For the Pro-Life Generation (PLG), Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry as a whole makes that list. But in the unique case of Krystena Murray, the antagonist in question doesn’t seem to be some twisted creep like on Criminal Minds with an immoral agenda, but instead a situation created by the unethical and unregulated practices of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) industry. 

WATCH: ADDRESSING IVF: Kristan Hawkins Breaks Down the Pro-Life Argument on In-Vitro Fertilization 

Krystena Murray, 38, of Georgia has been dreaming of having kids since she was a little girl. After months of reportedly unsuccessful fertility treatments, she eventually found herself at Coastal Fertility Services (CFS), seeking out the opportunity to have a baby via IVF. Murray went through months’ worth of appointments that consisted of everything from blood tests, daily injections, egg retrieval surgeries, choosing a sperm donor, and more. ABC News reported the hopeful-mom-to-be chose a sperm donor based on having similar appearances to her, quoting Murray as choosing a donor “with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.” Murray had a successful implantation transfer in May of 2023, and she gave birth in late December of 2023 to a baby boy. The joy seemed to turn into confusion. Murray and the sperm donor she selected are Caucasian, and Murray’s new little bundle of joy looked African American.  

“So, the first time I saw my son, like any mom, he was beautiful and literally the best thing I’ve ever seen, but it was also immediately apparent that he was African American,” ABC reported Murray explaining. “I would like to say my first thought is, ‘He’s beautiful.’ My second thought was, ‘What happened? Did they mess up the embryo, or did they mess up the sperm? And if they messed up the embryo, can someone take my son?”  

Along with being positively overwhelmed with happiness upon meeting her baby came with worry that this child wasn’t biologically hers and therefore could he be taken away from her.  

So, Murray reportedly did what any mother would and investigated. Not because she loved her son any less or didn’t want him anymore, but in the instinctual and protective maternal way. She sent an at-home DNA test in, and the results came back in late January, proving that the baby she has bonded with, breastfed, and cared for his every want and need for weeks, is not genetically related to her. Her attorneys contacted CFS in February and CFS contacted the baby’s biological parents in March. Another DNA test was performed to ensure the baby matched the couple’s genetics, and both sides lawyered up. Murray’s legal team basically told her she couldn’t win this custody battle, and she voluntarily, but sorrowfully, turned full custody of the child over to the biological parents in May of 2024. According to the various news articles already running on this case, Murray has not seen her child since.  

So, who’s in the wrong here? Both parents are simply wanting the child that they consider theirs, and that each side arguably has a right to parent. However, the true wrongdoer here is the IVF clinic. We may say everyone makes mistakes, but in healthcare, especially in this scenario, lives are literally on the line. This is what happens when we don’t take Life seriously and fail to see it as inherently valuable. Mistakes like this are traumatizing to all parties involved, not to mention the future of this little boy who is now waiting to be decided in a courtroom. But it’s more than just the CFS clinic that is at fault, it’s the entire IVF industry.  

This isn’t the first tragic IVF case where a mix up has taken place. Look at the following: 

• A couple sued a fertility clinic for allegedly using the wrong sperm.    

• Another couple from New Jersey claimed another fertility clinic used the wrong sperm.    

• A fertility doctor used the wrong sperm or even his own sperm and agreed to a $13 million dollar settlement with families.    

• A fertility clinic mixed up sperm in a botched IVF treatment and accuses the wife of cheating on her husband.    

• A fertility doctor used his own sperm and has 1,000 kids. 

In a previous SFLA article outlining the problems with the IVF industry, “The New York Times reported a story on two California couples who underwent IVF, and due to mix up, ended up raising each other’s children. The piece details that one of the couples’ lawyers, Adam Wolf, ‘says he had encountered fewer than 10 cases in which an embryo was transferred to the wrong woman. But he estimates that over the past decade, he has represented more than 1,000 plaintiffs accusing clinics and their suppliers of misconduct or negligence, most commonly because embryos in their care have been accidentally lost, damaged or destroyed.’” 

In Newport, California, an IVF worker allegedly placed embryonic children in hydrogen peroxide instead of sterile solution, killing them. Instead of owning up to this deadly mistake, they reportedly implanted the dead embryonic children anyway.      

READ: Trump Holds Many Pro-Life Wins, But His IVF Executive Order Ain’t One: The Truth About the Anti-Life IVF Industry 

And just as tragic are the stories that aren’t told. Since the IVF process on human beings started in 1965, it is estimated that hundreds of millions of lives have been created through this technology. Despite creating hundreds of millions of embryonic children, there’s only been roughly 12 million IVF live births EVER.  

Where are the remaining hundreds of millions of embryonic babies?  

Their stories may never be told. Many are still in the labs, frozen in liquid nitrogen, waiting to be implanted. Many have been “donated to science” and many more, unfortunately, have been “discarded”. Regardless of where they are, it’s evident that the IVF industry does not acknowledge that each of those embryos are conceived individuals worthy of life. These embryonic children, these humans, do not deserve to be treated as science experiments, don’t deserve to be a product that others can purchase at will, and certainly don’t deserve to be taken out with the trash.  

READ: PROFIT FROM PREBORN PEOPLE: IVF Jewelry Business Gets SLAMMED for Crafting Keepsakes from Discarded, ALIVE Embryonic Children  

Unfortunately, the current industry does not value life from the moment of conception. They instead treat these conceived humans as commodities to be bought and sold at will, ultimately making them as dangerous as the abortion industry.  

Rebecca Hughes lives in Lexington, NC, and leads the Winston-Salem, NC Campaign for Abortion Free Cities. 

READ NEXT: “My Husband Made Me Abort My IVF Baby:” How the IVF Industry Supports Destructive Narcissism and Sex-Selective Consumerism Through Selling Children