politics
Florida Couple Reaches Custody Deal in IVF Embryo Mix-Up Case
A Florida couple who received the wrong embryo during IVF has agreed with the biological parents to remain the permanent custodial parents of the child. Court documents filed Friday detail the private agreement and note the couple will continue using a different clinic for remaining embryos.
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A Florida couple who received the wrong embryo during an IVF procedure has reached a custody agreement with the biological parents of their six-month-old daughter. Tiffany Score and Steven Mills filed court papers in Orange County on Friday stating they will continue as the permanent custodial parents of the child, identified as Shea.
The documents confirm the identities of the genetic parents and describe the agreement as mutually devised, with details kept private.
Score and Mills sued the Fertility Center of Orlando and its head reproductive endocrinologist in January. They allege the clinic implanted the wrong embryo in April 2025, an error discovered after the birth of a non-Caucasian child on December 11, 2025.
DNA testing later confirmed the child is 100 percent South Asian and not genetically related to them. The couple had three embryos stored at the Longwood-based clinic since 2020. One resulted in a miscarriage, and the status of the third remains unclear.
Court filings state the couple has selected a new medical center to handle future IVF procedures and will test the remaining embryo for parentage.
Judge Margaret Schreiber commented during a Monday hearing that she was glad the parties reached an agreement while the child is relatively young. Score and Mills previously stated they will love and remain the child's parents permanently. Lawyers for both sides did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
