Embryos in divorce dispute at center of Arizona Senate bill; expect ‘ferocious’ debate, says Kaine Fisher, Rose Law Group partner, director Family Health Dept.

Kaine Fisher

By Ben Giles | Arizona Capitol Times

A legislative effort to resolve disagreements over frozen embryos in the midst of divorce would strip away a couple’s right to choose whether to be mothers or fathers, infertility experts warn.

Contracts currently determine what happens when genetic parents disagree over what to do with their frozen embryos. Couples sign agreements with fertility clinics that dictate what can and can’t be done with the embryos based on their dual consent, even in the event they split. Such was the case in 2017, when a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled that the rights of a husband who didn’t want to be a father trumped the rights of a wife who sought custody of the couple’s frozen embryos during divorce proceedings.

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“SB 1393, if passed, would seemingly have far reaching implications that would impact other controversial issues centered around the basic idea of when life begins, such as abortion. I’m sure the debate about this issue will be ferocious.”

~Kaine Fisher