In vitro fertilization has been a hot topic of debate among many in the estate planning community due to the disputes with the use of fertilized eggs after the death of the donor. However, a case in Britain has taken an interesting twist with a 60 year old woman seeking to carry her own grandchild through surrogacy. The woman’s daughter died in 2011 of cancer and expressed a desire for her mother to serve as a surrogate using the daughter’s eggs which were preserved. However, despite the oral intent, the daughter never filled out the form that dictated how her stored eggs were to be used. A court rebuffed the mother’s attempt to access the eggs by rejecting her argument based on human rights. However, a high court is now allowing an appeal to move forward even though it did not make any ruling on the merits of the case. No word on when the appeal is expected to be heard.
See Peter Walker, Brit woman in fight to give birth – to her own GRANDDAUGHTER, The Daily Star, February 24, 2016.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
