Embryo Custody Battles

Sep 01

Table of Contents

What Happens to Embryo of In Vitro Fertilization When Couples Divorce?

Commonly when couples begin the process of vitro fertilization, several eggs are fertilized at the same time and placed in separate petri dishes which are then frozen until the couple decides to have another child. Legal issues are now catching up with scientific ones as couples are divorcing or splitting up after fertilization, but before implantation of the embryo. The question arises as to which party has control of the embryos.

Courts balance the needs of the parties

The common scenario is that one party wants the embryos implanted and to become a parent while the other party objects. Courts vary in their decisions. In one Texas case, the couple signed a contract that if they divorced, the embryos would be destroyed. When they divorced, the wife wanted the embryos. The appellate court ruled that the contract was enforceable and the embryos were destroyed.

Most courts have ruled that a party’s right not to be a parent prevails over the other party’s desire to be one. An exception was in Pennsylvania where the court allowed the wife to have the embryos when, without them, she would never have a chance to have a child. A Washington state court awarded the embryos to the husband when the couple had used his sperm to fertilize the egg of an unknown donor. Since the wife had no genetic relationship to the embryos, the court determined she had no reason to object to the husband having them.

If you are in this type of situation and either want to have the embryos awarded to you or object to the other party getting the embryos, call an experienced family lawyer for assistance.

Embryo Custody Battles