Robin
06-25-2004, 01:30 AM
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/3835291.stm
Published: 2004/06/25 03:14:57 GMT © BBC MMIV
IVF embryo case verdict is due
The Court of Appeal will rule on Friday on the case of a woman refused the
chance to use frozen IVF embryos against her ex-partner's wishes.
Natallie Evans is contesting a High Court bar on the use of the embryos
without her ex-partner's consent.
Ms Evans, 32, from Wiltshire, cannot conceive naturally after undergoing
treatment for ovarian cancer.
She was given permission to take her case to a full appeal in January this
year.
A second woman, Lorraine Hadley, who was also refused permission to use
stored embryos, has abandoned her legal action.
Lord Justice Thorpse, who gave permission for the full appeal, said the case
was not only of "very great interest" to Ms Evans, but there were also
points of general public concern.
However, he told Robin Tolson QC, representing Ms Evans: "Your client should
not attach too high a hope as to the ultimate outcome."
After the hearing, Muiris Lyons, Ms Evan's solicitor, said: "Natallie is
delighted and relieved that her fight to save her embryos is not over. She
has never given up hope."
The current Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act - which governs IVF
treatment - says that consent from both man and woman is vital at every
stage of the process.
While Ms Evans' former partner Howard Johnston was in favour of IVF when his
sperm and her eggs were combined two years ago, the couple then parted and
Mr Johnston withdrew his consent.
He says he does not want the financial or emotional burden of a child with
Ms Evans.
But this withdrawal means under current rules, the six embryos involved
should now be "allowed to perish".
Ms Evans wants them preserved, as the chemotherapy she received for ovarian
cancer has left her infertile, and these are her only hope for a child that
carries her genes.
She and Ms Hadley had argued in court that if they had fallen pregnant
naturally, the men involved would have no say in the future of the child -
and the creation of IVF embryos produced a similar situation.
However, last October the High Court ruled that - in both her case and that
of Ms Hadley - consent was paramount, and that the embryos should be
destroyed.
European law cited
Judge Justice Wall said that, although he had sympathy for the women's
situation, he could not overrule the law as it stood.
Ms Evans applied for permission to appeal on the grounds that the law is
wrong if it permits Mr Johnston to withdraw his consent after the embryos
had been created.
She also argued that, in any event, it is too late for Mr Johnston to
withdraw his consent because, technically, the embryos have already been
used as part of her treatment.
In addition, she argued that European human rights legislation gives the
embryos a right to life, and her the right to use them as part of her right
to a private and family life.
Ms Hadley decided not to pursue an appeal following the High Court ruling.
Ms Hadley, from Stafford, had two embryos in storage created during her
marriage with her ex-husband Wayne.
She has a teenage daughter from a previous relationship, but suffers from
fertility problems because of a medical condition, so could not become
pregnant naturally.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/3835291.stm
Published: 2004/06/25 03:14:57 GMT © BBC MMIV
IVF embryo case verdict is due
The Court of Appeal will rule on Friday on the case of a woman refused the
chance to use frozen IVF embryos against her ex-partner's wishes.
Natallie Evans is contesting a High Court bar on the use of the embryos
without her ex-partner's consent.
Ms Evans, 32, from Wiltshire, cannot conceive naturally after undergoing
treatment for ovarian cancer.
She was given permission to take her case to a full appeal in January this
year.
A second woman, Lorraine Hadley, who was also refused permission to use
stored embryos, has abandoned her legal action.
Lord Justice Thorpse, who gave permission for the full appeal, said the case
was not only of "very great interest" to Ms Evans, but there were also
points of general public concern.
However, he told Robin Tolson QC, representing Ms Evans: "Your client should
not attach too high a hope as to the ultimate outcome."
After the hearing, Muiris Lyons, Ms Evan's solicitor, said: "Natallie is
delighted and relieved that her fight to save her embryos is not over. She
has never given up hope."
The current Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act - which governs IVF
treatment - says that consent from both man and woman is vital at every
stage of the process.
While Ms Evans' former partner Howard Johnston was in favour of IVF when his
sperm and her eggs were combined two years ago, the couple then parted and
Mr Johnston withdrew his consent.
He says he does not want the financial or emotional burden of a child with
Ms Evans.
But this withdrawal means under current rules, the six embryos involved
should now be "allowed to perish".
Ms Evans wants them preserved, as the chemotherapy she received for ovarian
cancer has left her infertile, and these are her only hope for a child that
carries her genes.
She and Ms Hadley had argued in court that if they had fallen pregnant
naturally, the men involved would have no say in the future of the child -
and the creation of IVF embryos produced a similar situation.
However, last October the High Court ruled that - in both her case and that
of Ms Hadley - consent was paramount, and that the embryos should be
destroyed.
European law cited
Judge Justice Wall said that, although he had sympathy for the women's
situation, he could not overrule the law as it stood.
Ms Evans applied for permission to appeal on the grounds that the law is
wrong if it permits Mr Johnston to withdraw his consent after the embryos
had been created.
She also argued that, in any event, it is too late for Mr Johnston to
withdraw his consent because, technically, the embryos have already been
used as part of her treatment.
In addition, she argued that European human rights legislation gives the
embryos a right to life, and her the right to use them as part of her right
to a private and family life.
Ms Hadley decided not to pursue an appeal following the High Court ruling.
Ms Hadley, from Stafford, had two embryos in storage created during her
marriage with her ex-husband Wayne.
She has a teenage daughter from a previous relationship, but suffers from
fertility problems because of a medical condition, so could not become
pregnant naturally.
