Assuta Hospital in Tel Aviv
Assuta Hospital in Tel AvivRoni Schutzer/Flash90

The family court on Monday published the results of the genetic test in the case of the in vitro fertilization scandal at Assuta Hospital in Rishon Letzion. According to the results, the couple who claimed a genetic link to the embryo are not the embryo's parents.

Judge Hani Shira, who summoned the parties to hand over the test results, wrote in her decision: "I summoned the parties' attorney to my court urgently, in light of the fact that the opinion of the director of the tissue classification unit at Sheba Hospital, Dr. Ron Levanthal, was received, from which it appears that the tests that were conducted have ruled out the possibility of the genetic maternity and paternity of respondents 3 and 4 in relation to the fetus carried by respondent.1"

Yesterday, the district court in Lod rejected the pregnant woman's request to delay the publication of the result for ten days and stated that the test result can be published today starting at 1:00 p.m.

The parents who claimed to be the genetic parents of the fetus earlier filed a request to appoint the Ministry of Welfare as the baby's guardian after her birth, in order to prevent the mother from registering her as her daughter.

Last month, a genetic test performed on a pregnant woman who underwent an embryo transfer procedure as part of the process in vitro fertilization at Assuta Hospital revealed that she was carrying an embryo that was genetically incompatible with her and her partner.

Attorneys Dori Caspi, Shira Friedan and Shmuel Moran responded on behalf of the couple who were determined not to be the genetic parents: "We thank the court for making every effort to clarify the question of genetic identification as quickly as possible, despite the difficulties that were piled up along the way. Assuta and the Ministry of Health pointed to us as the couple that is most likely the genetic parents. We only asked for the grace of knowing. Now, when the result has been received, we are processing the new information, feel relief and wish to return to our daily routine. We wish health to the fetus and the mother, and hope to dispel doubts for other patients."