PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsNewsEmbryos not 'living persons' judges rule in Ohio case

BioNews

Embryos not 'living persons' judges rule in Ohio case

Published 3 May 2019 posted in News and appears in BioNews 997

Author

Suzi Denton

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.

An appeal court in Cleveland, Ohio, has ruled that a couple's embryos lost in a freezer-failure incident last year were not 'living persons', and should not therefore have been treated as patients rather than property...

An appeal court in Cleveland, Ohio, has ruled that a couple's embryos lost in a freezer-failure incident last year were not 'living persons', and should not therefore have been treated as patients rather than property.

The judgment of the Eighth District Court of Appeals follows an application made by Rick and Wendy Penniman. The couple's embryos were stored at the fertility clinic University Hospitals, and were destroyed when the storage tank which was holding them malfunctioned in 2018 (see BioNews 941). Four thousand embryos and eggs belonging to around 950 other families were also lost due to the incident.

The Pennimans' attorney argued that life begins at conception, and therefore embryos should be treated as people rather than property (see BioNews 961). The application was initially rejected by the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, leading the couple to appeal the decision.

At a hearing in March, the couple's attorney Bruce Taubman told the court: 'These embryos are human beings. People treat them as human beings. Unfortunately, the hospital did not.'

Benjamin Sasse, attorney for the clinic, said in written submissions in March that Ohio law 'consistently limits personhood to a fetus that can exist outside the womb. A frozen embryo is not a fetus. Nor can it exist outside the womb.'

The appeal was rejected by a majority of two to one. The judges said that 'an embryo that has not been implanted into the uterus of a woman does not constitute a "distinct human entity" and is therefore not entitled to the rights and protections of a person.'

Judge Sean Gallagher dissented, referring to the fact that the other judges had used a definition of a 'living person' enshrined in criminal law, as opposed to civil law. In his dissenting opinion, he said: 'We cannot universally apply criminal statutes, especially those limited to defining the scope of criminal behavior, to all common law and statutory claims in Ohio.'

The couple is now planning to take their case to the Ohio Supreme Court. Commenting on the outcome of the appeal, Taubman said: 'I am a little disappointed, but we’re going to continue on. We have a very important issue here.'

Related Articles

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
29 April 2022 • 1 minute read

Couple sue Colorado fertility clinic over loss of embryos

by Sarah Pritchard

A US couple is suing an IVF clinic for destroying seven embryos by not storing them correctly...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts equipment used for embryo biopsy.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts equipment used for embryo biopsy.
News
25 January 2019 • 2 minutes read

New lawsuits filed over embryos lost in freezer failure

by Georgia Everett

Eight new lawsuits have been filed this week following the loss of 4000 eggs and embryos when a storage tank in a fertility clinic malfunctioned...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts equipment used for embryo biopsy.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts equipment used for embryo biopsy.
News
23 November 2018 • 2 minutes read

Experts caution on implications of 'lost embryos' lawsuit

by Dr Lone Hørlyck

Experts have strongly criticised a claim that embryos lost during a storage tank failure at a fertility clinic were 'people'...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts equipment used for embryo biopsy.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts equipment used for embryo biopsy.
News
6 August 2018 • 2 minutes read

Freezer-failure embryos were people, claim parents

by Jen Willows

An Ohio couple are continuing their legal fight to have their lost embryos declared to have the same legal status as people...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
19 March 2018 • 1 minute read

Second freezer failure at US fertility centre

by Jen Willows

A second US fertility clinic has reported a malfunction of a tank used to store frozen eggs and embryos...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts equipment used for embryo biopsy.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts equipment used for embryo biopsy.
News
9 March 2018 • 1 minute read

Malfunction at clinic may compromise frozen eggs and embryos

by Dr Lone Hørlyck

A temperature fluctuation in a storage bank has compromised at least 2100 frozen eggs and embryos in a fertility clinic in Cleveland Ohio...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« Private IVF clinics 'exploiting' older patients, says HFEA chair

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.

Find out how you can advertise here
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
13 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

Drop in diversity of blood stem cells leads to old-age health issues

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

First UK medical guidelines issued for trans fertility preservation

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Common virus may be cause of recent hepatitis cases in children

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Male age has more impact on IVF birth rate than previously thought

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

CRISPR genome editing treatments may raise cancer risk

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Differences in IVF-conceived children's size disappear by adolescence

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856