| Topic: |
The Parent Trap: Uncovering Bias in Judicial Treatment of Frozen Embryo Disputes |
| Presenter: |
Ellen Waldman, Professor of Law
Thomas Jefferson School of Law |
| Location: |
Leichtag Building Room 2A05 |
Presentation
Abstract
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In a number of recent legal cases, divorcing couples have disagreed over the disposition of extra IVF embryos. Where one party wishes to destroy the couple's jointly produced embryos and the other wishes to use them to procreate (alone), the court has tended to focus on the emotional pain of the "unwilling" parent, forced to become a parent against his or her will. |
Discussion
Questions: |
- What is the legal basis of such rulings?
- What state interests are at issue in cases of embryos produced by (now) divorcing couples?
- What bearing should sociological data about psychological vs. biological ties between parents and children have on the judicial treatment of leftover embryos?
- To what extent, if at all, should the gender of the parent wishing to procreate matter legally?
- What ethical issues do disputes over frozen embryos raise? How, for example, is the court's presumption in favor of destroying frozen embryos consistent with the President's policy on stem cell research?
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Discussion
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