Divorced couple's fight over frozen embryos goes to Colorado Supreme Court
DENVER, Colorado -- A couple's custody battle over their embryos is headed to the Colorado Supreme Court.
Mandy and Drake Rooks married in 2002. They went to a fertility clinic and had multiple embryos cryogenically frozen, but didn't specify what happens to them.
"They signed the boxes that said, 'If we actually get divorced, we want the court to decide for us,'" explained James Giese, attorney for Drake.
That's how the case ended up at the state supreme court.
Mandy likens the in vitro procedure to conceiving naturally and says the father made his decision when the eggs were fertilized.
Mandy's attorney, Katayoun Donnelly, asked, "Does mom have more than one kid? Is she going to be able to have more kids? Can they economically be able to afford the kids?"
This court brief sites a similar case in Massachusetts, which involved a signed form stating if the parties separated, the embryos would return to the mother. That court did not want to compel a person to become a parent against their will, saying "forced procreation is not an area amendable to judicial enforcement."
It's yet to be seen if the Colorado high court agrees.
