irish courts to decide embryo case today

[mayorquimby]

A quick summary of the case is as follows. A woman wants the right to release frozen embryos that she and her estranged husband froze when together. He is objecting saying that he never gave consent for the eggs to be used in the event of a marraige break-up.
It is nmow being heard in the supreme court and a decision is expected today.
tv3.ie/article.php?article_id=27834&locID=1.2.139.&pagename=home
is a quick over-view, while the Times article is to do with the legal status of frozen embryos as decided by the courts
www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0204/breaking60.htm

Between the abortion case at the moment in europe,the decision on the sperm doners rights and now this it's a pretty active time for the irish courts surrounding family/pregnancy issues.
so what does the forum think about this?

there was a case like this in england, but the couple weren't married.

she took it to strasbourg.

and lost.

Are you sure they weren't married, Expat? Seem to remember that her eggs were taken as she was undergoing cancer treatment which would make her infertile. The interesting point being that if they hadn't been fertilized, then it wouldn't have been an issue, but think she was advised that they should be fertilized, and her partner withdrew his consent for them to be kept in storage.

natalie evans and howard johnston, her former partner, were never married.

God i'd feel sorry for both of them in that case. Obviously her being infertile and having been advised badly would make you feel for her but I think I'd agree with the courts because I don't think i could ever agree with someone being allowed to have someones child without their consent.

she was advised to have the eggs harvested fertilised and grown to embryo-stage before freezing as apparently eggs on their own don't have as good a survival rate during the thawing process.

The couple in the irish case already have a child together but have since seperated

Oh fair enough, Expat.

Whilst sad, think the court reached the right decision. After all, it's about one's own reproductive system. A man should be able to have the same rights as women as far as being in control of their own fertility. As a society, we are insisting that a father is an active parent, so think they have the right to refuse.

Suppose the case though will turn on the definition of whether an embryo is life, and subsequently abortion. But the flip side though is taking away consent from a father.

Tricky.

i'd like to hope that the frozen embryos aren't considered to be life otherwise would that prohibit the consentual ceasement of storage? Also i just don't think that consent should be taken away from the father in this case and think it would be wrong for a court of law to essentially force him to father a child without his consent.

no-one should be forced to become a parent without their consent.

It is unfortunate that the woman is infertile, bug now that she and her husband are separated it's not really his responsibility to ensure she can have another child.

just heard on Newstalk that she has lost her case

poor woman but think it was the right decision.