Moms Speak Out After Sons Were Allegedly Switched at Birth 40 Years Ago

Moms Speak Out After Sons Were Allegedly Switched at Birth 40 Years Ago https://ift.tt/be3OJZx

Jeremy Morrison and Kyle Bylin say that that they were switched at birth by hospital staff and did not know about their biological parents for 36 years

Kyle Bylin (left), Jeremy Morrison (right).
Credit: Kyle Bylin; Jeremy Morrison

NEED TO KNOW

• The mothers of two men who say they were switched at birth nearly 40 years ago are speaking out
• Jeremy Morrison and Kyle Bylin say that they were switched at birth by hospital staff and did not know about their biological parents for 36 years
• The men and their parents are now suing the North Dakota hospital where they were born on Jan. 28, 1988

The mothers of two men who say they were switched at birth nearly 40 years ago are speaking out for the first time.

Elizabeth O’Toole recalled the moment she learned that her son, Jeremy Morrison, wasn’t biologically hers in a new interview with CBS News,

“Shock, disbelief. It felt surreal,” she said. “I mean, it really didn’t feel real until I met Kyle in person.”

Morrison and Kyle Bylin sued the North Dakota hospital where they were both born on Jan. 28, 1988, alleging that the facility was responsible for switching them at birth.

“It upsets me that the hospital is trying to pawn this off and say that basically, ‘oh, nothing happened here,’” Evelyn Newton, who raised Bylin, told the outlet.

Kyle Bylin; Jeremy Morrison.
Credit: Kyle Bylin; Jeremy Morrison

Bylin previously shared with PEOPLE that he learned his mom wasn’t biologically related to him after taking a DNA test to try and learn more about her German heritage.

Morrison’s aunt’s DNA was already listed in Ancestry.com’s database — and based on the large percent of DNA the two shared, Bylin and the aunt soon deduced that he was her biological nephew.

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The two men got in touch, and soon learned they seemed to be the only two babies born at the hospital, Unity Medical Center in Grafton, N.D., on their shared birthday.

For 36 years, Bylin was raised by Elizabeth and Terry Morrison, while Morrison was raised by Evelyn and Keith Bylin. In their lawsuit, both men claimed that their 36-year separation from their biological parents caused “permanent and irreparable damage to the plaintiffs and their parent/child relationships.”

Jeremy Morrison as a child.
Credit: Jeremy Morrison

In a statement previously shared with PEOPLE, Unity Medical Center confirmed that the two men were “born at our hospital on the same day in 1988” and “apparently were separated from their biological parents.” However, the hospital denies that it or its staff were responsible for the switch, stating, “[We] have found no evidence to support claims that Unity Medical Center or its staff were responsible for what occurred.”

“Unfortunately, because of the passage of nearly four decades, the medical and staffing records that might have provided additional clarity no longer exist, and no members of the delivery team from that time are still employed by the hospital,” the statement added.

Speaking with CBS News, Morrison said that he wants an apology from the hospital, and for it to “[realize] that they did make a mistake, that there was only two babies there and they went home with the opposite families. The hospital is 100% at fault.”

“I would like to know if this was done intentionally,” Morrison, who lives in Colorado now, told CBS News. “I mean, you would think with only two babies it wouldn’t be too hard to get them to the right families, but apparently it was.”