Tuesday July 4, 2006
Irish Woman Pleads for Frozen IVF Children in Dublin High Court
By Hilary White
DUBLIN, July 4, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A woman broke down in
tears
yesterday in Dublin’s High Court when she described the three frozen
embryos that she is fighting for custody over against her husband.
The woman, whose identity has not been revealed to the press, is suing
her estranged husband over their frozen embryonic children whom they
conceived by in vitro fertilization treatments.
“The rightful place for those three embryos is back with their mother to give them the right to life,” she said.
After the treatments, the woman discovered her husband was having an
affair and they separated. She admits that she never gave much thought
at the time of the treatments to the fate of the other three embryos
that had been placed in cryogenic frozen storage.
When the husband suggested selling the embryos or destroying them, she took him and the clinic to court.
The Associated Press quoted the woman: “They are our children. They are
our childrens' brothers and sisters, just in the beginning of their
life. The right place for them is to be back inside their mother who’s
me.”
The Irish constitution protects the right to life of unborn children
and the woman’s legal counsel is arguing that the embryos cannot be
destroyed under the law. The IVF clinic in Dublin has refused to
implant the embryos until the court has rendered a decision. The court
is dealing with issues surrounding consent before examining the
constitutional issues.
The husband’s lawyer has claimed that the woman is trying to “force” him to have more children than he wants.
“I have thought long and hard about donating them but I can’t give our
children to another couple,” she said. “I can’t destroy them. It’s
morally wrong.”
Ireland currently has no regulations regarding IVF treatments.
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