LONDON, UK, January 16, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Natallie Evans has won the right to an appeal in her bid to retain embryos that were created through IVF with former partner, Howard Johnston. Under current British law, the fertility Act states that both partners must give full consent for the procedure to be carried out. Johnston opposes the implantation of the embryos. Evans had surgery for ovarian cancer, rendering her infertile. She worries that the embryos in storage are her only chance of having a child mature to adulthood.
Last October, the British High Court ruled that Johnston’s consent was paramount, and that the embryos should be destroyed.
Evans applied for the appeal based on the argument that Johnston could not withdraw his consent after the embryos had been created.
Evans also argued that European human rights legislation grants embryos a right to life, and her, as part of her right to a private and family life, the right to use them. Read local coverage at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3402929.stm