IVF couple fight to save embryos
10/05/2006
May I thank you for the way my accident claim has been handled, after my accident my confidence was very low indeed but the sympathetic handling of my case restored my confidence.
John, Sheffield
A couple whose storage limit on their frozen embryos has just passed are fighting for their stored embryos not be destroyed.
The couple, from Manchester are fighting to keep their frozen embryos alive.
The couple have six embryos in storage in a private clinic in Manchester. The five year limit for storage of the embryos, which are intended to be used for surrogacy, has now passed. The embryos will have to be destroyed if the HFEA does not agree to then staying in storage.
The couple have applied to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to transfer the embryos abroad.
They also have another seven embryos, which will reach their maximum storage date next year.
The couple could argue that their right to a private and family life and their right not to be discriminated against - Article 8 and Article 14 of the Human Rights Convention have been breached. This is the legal argument that Natallie Evans used in the fight to save her frozen embryos, first in the House of Lords and later at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Under the current law, embryos created for any fertility problems other than a missing womb can be kept for ten years. Any change in the law will not come until after the Government's review of the HFEA Act in 2008.
Dr Brian Lieberman, of Manchester Fertility Services said the current law was wrong and illogical.
Healthcare Public Law Solicitor Muiris Lyons who initially advised the couple said:
"Given that the couple want their embryos to remain in storage whilst they continue their search to find a suitable surrogate, it is terribly unfair that the law as it presently stands prevents the embryos being stored beyond five years."
"The existing laws that govern fertility treatment in the UK appear to discriminate against couples who require surrogacy arrangements."
"The distinction between couples needing a surrogate and those undergoing other forms of fertility treatment is on the face of it both arbitrary and discriminatory."
"The long-awaited review of the fertility laws in this country - due in 2008 may in due course result in this anomaly being resolved but that will not help in this case."
"The couple can only hope that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) will take a pragmatic and sympathetic view and agree not to take regulatory or enforcement action against the clinic who appear to be willing to continue to store the embryos while they make arrangements to have their embryos moved abroad and whilst they continue their search for a suitable surrogate."
"Coping with infertility and undergoing IVF treatment is difficult enough for couples who are desperate for a family. The law should be seeking to make life easier for couples in a similar situation to this, not preventing them from using their own embryos to have their own child."
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