In California, a court decides on the fate of frozen embryos

Publié le 18 Nov, 2015

On Wednesday, the Judge in the San Francisco Supreme Court passed judgement on the future of the frozen embryos of a divorced United States couple. The woman who “became sterile following cancer asked to use the frozen embryos she had produced with her ex-husband”. However, the couple had signed an agreement stating that, “the five embryos that the couple had decided to freeze prior to treatment (…) would be destroyed in the event of a divorce”. Upholding this contract, the judge refused the wife’s request.

 

 “It is a disturbing consequence of modern biological technology that the fate of the nascent human life, which the embryos in this case represent, must be determined in a court by reference to cold legal principles”, the judge wrote.

 

This is not a one-off case in the United States. This decision can be expected by other couples in the same circumstances because it could set a precedent in the State of California. It could be the subject of an appeal.

AFP (18/11/2015)

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