Mills and Score, both Caucasian, used the Fertility Center of Orlando for in-vitro fertilization. After a healthy pregnancy, Score gave birth to their daughter in December 2025, but the couple said they suspected something was wrong when the child did not appear to be white. Genetic testing subsequently confirmed that Shea was not biologically related to either Mills or Score.
In January, the couple filed a lawsuit against the clinic seeking to identify Shea’s biological parents and to cover genetic testing for other children born to patients, concerned that their own embryos may have been subject to another mix-up. According to court documents, a January 5 letter from attorney Jack Scarola to the clinic warned that “in the absence of the racial disparity that alerted [Mills and Score] to your inexcusable error, the fact and results of the error might be concealed for years or left undiscovered indefinitely.”
An amended complaint filed in January said Mills and Score had formed an “intensely strong emotional bond” with Shea and wanted to keep her in their care, but also recognized their daughter should be “legally and morally united with her genetic parents.”
The court filing last week recorded the custody agreement. The couple said in an April statement obtained by the Orlando Sentinel that “questions about the disposition of our own embryos are still unanswered and are even more unlikely to ever be answered.” They added: “Only one thing is as absolutely certain as it was on the day our daughter was born – we will love and be this child’s parents forever.”
The Fertility Center of Orlando announced it would close on May 20. The company is also defending a separate lawsuit alleging medical malpractice and negligence related to a 2024 surrogate pregnancy in which the infant died shortly after birth.