Family Solicitors

An unnamed mother and her husband have launched a legal battle in the Family Division of the High Court to enable her to become pregnant with an embryo which was taken from her daughter, then fertilised and frozen before she died from cancer.

BBC News reports that the case may be the first of its kind, where a mother has applied to the court to become pregnant with her late daughter’s IVF embryo.

The High Court was told that the woman’s daughter died from bowel cancer – but before her death she wanted her eggs, which had been fertilised by donor sperm, implanted in her mother's womb.

The daughter was the couple's only child and she decided to freeze her eggs at an IVF clinic in Hammersmith, west London in 2008, after her cancer diagnosis.

The daughter had hoped to become pregnant with her own child using the fertilised eggs, but died from bowel cancer in 2011, aged in her late twenties.

Her mother – referred to in court as Mrs M – is now aged 59, but the High Court heard that a clinic in New York has signalled that it is willing to provide her with fertility treatment at a cost of up to £60,000 ($92,000).

However, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has refused to issue a “special direction” which would allow the daughter’s frozen embryos to be taken out of storage and sent to the US.

The HFEA's statutory approvals committee (SAC) made the ruling in 2014, saying there was insufficient evidence to show that the daughter wanted her mother to carry her child.
The BBC reports that although the daughter completed a form giving consent for the eggs to be stored after her death, she did not fill out a separate document indicating how she wanted them to be used.

Mrs M is asking Mr Justice Ouseley to rule that this decision was unlawful – and interferes with the family's human rights.

Mrs M also says that as her daughter’s condition deteriorated, she told her:

“They are never going to let me leave this hospital, mum – the only way I will get out of here will be in a body bag.

“I want you to carry my babies. I didn't go through IVF to save my eggs for nothing. I want you and Dad to bring them up – they will be safe with you.

“I couldn't have wanted for better parents. I couldn't have done this without you.”

Mr Justice Ouseley has reserved judgment in the case and is expected to give a ruling in the near future.

Duncan Lewis Family Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of family solicitors able to advise on a wide range of family matters – including surrogacy and international surrogacy, adoption and international adoption, child care law, Court of Protection and the Human Rights Act.

There are Duncan Lewis offices nationwide and Duncan Lewis is ranked by the Legal 500 2014 for its family and matrimonial work.

The Duncan Lewis family and child care team also includes Advanced Members of the Law Society’s Family Panel and members of the Law Society Children Panel.

For expert legal advice on family law and child care law, call Duncan Lewis family solicitors on 020 7923 4020.