Wednesday's CNN Tonight spotlighted the lawsuit of a homosexual woman, who mistakenly received sperm from an African-American man – instead of a "blond-haired, blue-eyed [man]...resembling my partner," as guest Jennifer Cramblett put it. Hosts Don Lemon and Alisyn Camerota gave Cramblett a platform to promote her case. Camerota underlined that the plaintiff "live[s] in eastern Ohio, in a town that you say is 98 percent white and racially insensitive."
However, Lemon actually played a bit of hardball with Cramblett, over whether the racial make-up of her daughter really matters or not: [video below]
DON LEMON: I understand that someone has to take responsibility. That was a pretty egregious error. But I mean, you know, kids are born with all sorts of things that parents don't expect to do and to learn about. And that's just – that's, kind of, part of parenting....Do you disagree?..kids are picked on for a number of different things. And if she's loved at home....why does it matter...what other people say?
The openly-homosexual anchor led the interview by asking his guest to give the circumstances of the case:
LEMON: ...Jennifer, I want you to explain to us what happened here. You and your partner, Amanda – you decide that you want to start a family. So, you opt to use the services of a sperm bank. So how did you learn that the sperm that you were pregnant with was from a black man – and not a white man, as you had ordered?
JENNIFER CRAMBLETT, SUING SPERM BANK: We – actually, five months into the pregnancy, we had called to try to get some more vials for the second pregnancy for Amanda. And when I called to order that – that sperm and those vials, I asked them for 380, and they came back on the line and said, 'I do believe we've sent you donor number 330. Are you sure that's not what you asked for?' And I obviously said, 'No, my donor number is 330 – or 380.' And they came back on the line and said, "Well, unfortunately, I think we've errored up and – and sent you 330.'
LEMON; Did they tell you then that the sperm you had gotten was from a black man? How did you find out?
CRAMBLETT: Once they did some, and – you know, my shock – you know, just it being the different number that I wanted, they said, 'Hold on. Let's go into your file. Let's do a little bit more research' – came back on the line and then, had asked me if I had requested an African- American donor. And at that point, I said, 'No, 380 was blond-haired, blue-eyed – something resembling my partner, Amanda.' And at that point, they said, 'Well, I do believe 330 is an African-American donor.' And basically, we can no longer talk to you anymore.
Camerota followed up by pointing out that "obviously, your issue is not with your daughter. You love her very much." She continued with the "98 percent white and racially insensitive" claim from Cramblett and asked, "What has your daughter's experience been like for these two years of her life?" The guest replied by giving a more nuanced description of her home area:
CRAMBLETT: ...You know, honestly, we haven't had much of any kind of racial issues in our town. I'm not saying that Uniontown is a racist town by any means. I'm saying that I want my child to be raised around people that, maybe, look like her – and unfortunately, we're not going to get all of those assets there in Uniontown, Ohio.
So, as of now, we haven't even scratched the surface of things that we may see in the future, and we are – we want to prevent that from happening. We want her to grow up in a community where she feels accepted – feels like it's normal to be who she is – walk down the streets; and not have anything skew that view.
When the former Fox News Channel journalist brought up the specific issue of the child's hair, Cramblett bemoaned the added difficulties due to the sperm bank's error. This led to Lemon's confrontation with his guest:
ALISYN CAMEROTA: You give an example, that even as – something as simple as a haircut for your daughter is not so simple.
CRAMBLETT: Right. Yeah, I mean, we haven't even really dealt with a lot of issues, as far as getting a haircut right now. Obviously, we're letting her grow her hair out as much as we possibly can. But, you know, those are just the small, little things that we have to think about that, maybe, wasn't going to be even a thought.
Having a girl, I was going to have to worry about – I have short hair, so I have to worry about how to put up a ponytail, because I can't even remember the last time I had to do that. But now, I – just added a little bit more complexity to it, and I want her to know how to do it. And those are the things that I don't feel I am – I have the background to even know. So, it's things that we have to go out and research and talk to people, and figure out how to do as simple as a daily chore of doing your hair.
LEMON: And listen, I understand that – that someone has to take responsibility. That was a pretty egregious error. But I mean, you know, kids are born with all sorts of things that parents don't expect to do and to learn about. And that's just – that's, kind of, part of parenting. Don't-
CRAMBLETT: Right-
LEMON: Do you disagree? I mean – and kids are picked on for a number of different things. And if she's loved at home, why does it matter-
CRAMBLETT: Right-
LEMON: Yeah – why does it matter what – you know, what other people say? And then, when she gets older, she may read about this, and how – how do you think she's going to feel about this later?
CRAMBLETT: Yeah. You know, we were always going to have that conversation, if I was here right now with a lawsuit. She's going to know what she is and – and where she came from and how all this happened. So, that conversation was going to be had no matter what. She's going to know that we love her unconditionally. Everybody around her loves her. So, I think she's going to know why we did what we did. And the basis of – of the lawsuit and why we're doing what we're doing is so that somebody's held accountable, and this isn't going to happen to anybody else.
