In vitro fertilization and the right to procreate: the right to no.

Unable to conceive by sexual intercourse, a woman and her husband are now pregnant with their second child. How? Her eggs were fertilized by his sperm in vitro-in a laboratory. Some of these fertilized eggs were implanted into her uterus, while others were frozen to make future attempts possible. The couple's success with in vitro fertilization ("IVF") gives them an opportunity to be parents, but leaves them with a difficult decision. They still have seven more frozen embryos. He is happy with only two children, while she wants to try to use the frozen embryos because they are made from the couple's eggs and sperm. Despite their differences, the couple is not worried about resolving the matter because they "trust each other." For other couples, however, trust has been insufficient when spread thinly over broken dreams.1 These couples, too, were unable to conceive through intercourse. The enormous expenditures of time, energy, and money required by the IVF process, however, were unavailing. When these unsuccessful couples have divorced, disputes over the disposition of the frozen embryos have not been easy to resolve.2 For example, one person sought custody, claiming one last, best chance to become a parent. The other person objected strenuously, fearing both the financial burden of mandatory child support payments and the emotional burden of separation from children whose existence was imagined only within marriage.