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Woman Loses Fight to Use Her Frozen Embryos

170 replies

expatinscotland · 07/03/2006 11:01

This woman had her ovaries removed due to ovarian cancer. She had eggs fertilised w/her former partner's sperm. They were together when she had them fertilised, of course, w/his permission. Then he w/drew that permission.

Whaddya think?

\link{http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4779876.stm\woman loses fight}

OP posts:
pashmina · 07/03/2006 14:28

wannabe - are you moraaly against ivf?

desperateSCOUSEwife · 07/03/2006 14:29

yes there is pashmina
but at the same time my 4 kids from prev are still hurt coz their "sperm donor" ex wants nothing to do with them

Tinker · 07/03/2006 14:31

But this child doesn't yet exist. Why not skip the debate about its future by not creating it?

carla · 07/03/2006 14:32

Well!!! If you will watch Discovery Health!! My, my.

Got to get gals now Smile

wannaBe1974 · 07/03/2006 14:33

no I am not morally against IVF

katzg · 07/03/2006 14:35

i posted earlier on this and have to say that i agree with BARONESS RUTH DEECH men - like women - should have the right to say no. The principle of equality is very important. "Women have fought a long hard battle along the lines of no means no. She added: "It's a tragic case, and of course it could have been avoided. "If Natallie Evans had not had her embryos produced, but had frozen her eggs or even a slice of ovarian tissue, thereby keeping control. "But the principle of equality is very important.

dinosaur · 07/03/2006 14:37

I would be heartbroken if I was her. How vindictive must he be, not to let her go ahead with a pregnancy?

FrayedKnot · 07/03/2006 14:40

I think it's the right decision. And I don't think he's done it because he hates her, although yes, he has probably not demonstrated much compassion, but in the same way as many women would not consider donating eggs altruistically, I believe he has the right to make this decision.

I think it is extremely sad that the woman was not advised to have some eggs frozen instead of, or at least as well as, some embryos.

I feel terribly sorry for her as DS in fact is the result of a frozen embryo and I know how it feels to think that you have something somewhere in a freezer that could potentially turn into your much longed for baby.

pashmina · 07/03/2006 14:41

I think most people would agree that the principle is right, and she is unlikely to get her way now anyway. However, what a horrible thing to do with somebody you used to be in love with, and what a horrible consequence for her. I relly hope she gets over this and manages some future happiness.

bran · 07/03/2006 14:43

I didn't mean in my argument that he (or any man) would be likely to want to use the embryos, just that if a woman's embryos (or eggs for that matter) were used against her wishes that we would be full of sympathy for her not calling her selfish for not making someone else happy.

Blandmum · 07/03/2006 14:43

An awful situation. I feel very, very sorry for the poor woman. If only she could have frozen eggs at the time Sad

But if a woman decided to have a termination, how many of us would be happy for her partner to insist that she have the baby so that he could care for it at the end? I think that most of us would see it as an impossible infringment of the womans right not to become a parent. Sadly the same is true for this fathers rights. That said I think is is quite horrid.

dinosaur · 07/03/2006 14:52

I can't really see how the two are comparable martianbishop. A woman would have to carry the baby to term and then give birth to it. He has to do...nothing.

Blandmum · 07/03/2006 14:56

True, however the woman would be being forced into becoming a mother. And we consider that women have a right to choose not to be by termination of pregnancy. The father of the foetus has no rights to make the pg continue. He cannot forse the woman to be a mother.

In this case the man would be forced into a fatherhood he does not desire.

Yes, the former is 'worse' as the woman eill have to have a pg and lbour.

But the man in this case would still be legally and finacialy responsible for the child till it reached maturity....not doing 'nothing' And legaly she cannot absolve him for those responsibilities

tamum · 07/03/2006 14:56

On the issue of freezing eggs, I honestly don't think there had been any real success with that in 2001. It was certainly not routine, so I am not surprised that she was advised to freeze embryos. I just don't know what to think of this- I can just imagine the grief the woman is going through, and that stops me from thinking about it very rationally. I suspect if I did then I would see the court's point, but what a truly awful situation.

mommie · 07/03/2006 14:57

the woman can still use donor eggs and have a baby with her new partner - wouldn't that be the obvious thing to do?

Blandmum · 07/03/2006 14:57

It is totaly horrible tamum.

I remember how I felt when dh told me he had 'willed' me his sperm samples to use for myself if he had died from his testicular cancer. A horrid feeling.

dinosaur · 07/03/2006 14:58

But if a woman and her partner split up while she is pregnant, her partner has no right to make her have a termination. Why should it be any different for this woman?

tamum · 07/03/2006 14:58

Oh, mb :(

dinosaur · 07/03/2006 14:59

That is true, mommie, but I believe that donor eggs are in very short supply.

bundle · 07/03/2006 14:59

what about if he had cancer treatment that rendered him infertile, would he be justified in asking if he could use their joint embryos with another partner? how would she feel about that?

Tinker · 07/03/2006 15:00

Because a termination is a medical procedure to actively end a pregnancy. There is no pregnancy here yet.

Tinker · 07/03/2006 15:01

Or he insisted that she became pregnant against her wishes for his baby.

madmarchhare · 07/03/2006 15:02

Given that there are already laws in place I think the right decision has been made.

OK, she must be terribly upset, but I dont think enough consideration is being given to the blokes feelings at all.

Blandmum · 07/03/2006 15:02

an interesting point dinosaur and also bundle!

Just shows what a minefield this area is Sad

In the end we didn't need dh's frozen sperm samples everything was OK. But it did give me pause for thought, I can tell you!

Interestingly dh would will the sperm for my personal use but would not let it be used fro anyone else, and he felt he needed to know who the moter was and apporove IYSWIM.....he wanted to control who he became a father with....like this bloke I suppose.

What a minefield Sad

tamum · 07/03/2006 15:07

What a good point bundle and Tinker.

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