Embryos after parents’ death poser for U.K.

Press, 23 June 1984, Page 6

Embryos after parents’ death poser for U.K.

From

DIANA DEKKER

in London

A situation in which fertilised embryos could exist after the death of the man and woman who produced them could happen in Britain, according to the “Daily Star” newspaper. The newspaper says that the Warnock Committee, which has been looking into aided reproduction and is due to give its report next week, is believed to approve of the freezing of embryos. The “Daily Star” refers to the case of two fertilised embryos in the freezer of a hospital in Melbourne, Australia, “who would, if they are allowed to develop into people, be orphans, and rich.”

The tale is, the article says, one no science fiction writer ever thought of and was one that could happen in Britain after the Warnock Committee Report. The report, according to the newspaper, does not recommend a time limit for how long embryos could stay in a freezer, but says it should be long enough to allow for well spaced families, which could mean several years.

The report would also suggest that parents, once they have successfully produced their family, should be consulted on what happens to any spare embryos left, but did not say what would happen if there were suddenly no parents to consult.

The “Daily Star” also published the story of a woman who was carrying ababy for a childless couple in Scotland. The husband is the father of the baby which is due in July. The surrogate mother, Mary Stewart, who is unmarried, told the newspaper that social workers had threatened to put her small son, Michael, in care if she went through with her plan to hand the expected baby over to the couple, Gena and Michael Dodd.

Ms Stewart, staying at the Dodds’ cottage near Lairg, Sutherland, has guaranteed to have the baby and never see it again although no money has been offered and no contracts signed. She offered to become a surrogate mother after the Dodds, who have been wanting children for 12 years, advertised in the local newspaper.