She wants the frozen embryos so she can become pregnant. Her ex-husband wants the embryos created through artificial insemination to be donated to other couples who want children. After a few divorces, what should happen to the embryos that have not yet been implanted?
That question is before the Ohio Supreme Court, in a case that could shed light on how justices interpret the voters-approved Reproductive Rights Amendment, which protects individuals’ rights to make and carry out their own decisions regarding abortion or fertility treatments.
The Supreme Court agreed to take the case of a former Summit County couple identified in court records by the initials RN and EBN.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the ex-wife, saying her desire to become pregnant outweighed his “rights to reproductive autonomy.” The ex-husband said the appeals court’s decision would force him to become an “unwilling father.”
The ex-husband’s lawyers said in court filings that the case is about someone being able to obtain a court order before a pregnancy that forces another person to become a father. If the appeals decision stands, it could affect the decision of couples to use IVF treatment across the state, the ex-husband argues.
The couple married in August 2016 and began fertility treatments soon after. The artificial insemination resulted in 14 embryos. But before either partner contributed genetic material, both signed a contract stating that in the event of a separation or divorce, neither could use the embryos without the other’s permission.
The couple divorced in Summit County in January 2019. What to do with the embryos became an issue in the divorce. And during the divorce, the woman, who was in her late 30s, was being treated for thyroid cancer and doctors advised her not to try to get pregnant for a year after her radiation treatment.
The judge in the divorce case ruled that the frozen embryos should be donated to other couples, prompting the ex-wife to take the case to the Court of Appeal.
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the Ohio Bureau of the USA TODAY Network, which covers the Columbus Dispatch, the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
