title: The use and disposal of stored embryos.
abstract: Claims that human embryos are "human beings" or "persons" cannot be agreed, because philosophies and approaches differ, awarding them statuses from full human to property. In 1984, the UK (Warnock) Committee of Inquiry into Human Fertilisation and Embryology made recommendations that still offer legal and ethical guidance. It is widely agreed, for instance, that embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) should not be transferred for reproductive purposes without relevant consent, whether for gamete donors' or others' family-building. A consequence of courts enforcing parties' IVF agreements on stored embryo use or balancing parties' competing interests is that one party-usually the male-can veto the other's use of the embryo for reproduction on termination of a partnership. The extent to which surplus IVF embryos can be donated for research ranges from prohibition to infertility treatment and more, but wider needs for embryology research are appearing that, despite prevailing bans, may require embryos for study created to genetic specifications.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Law, Faculty of Medicine and Joint Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. Electronic address: bernard.dickens@utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Bernard M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Dickens
mesh_terms: D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019924:Embryo Disposition / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D033041:Embryo Research / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008297:Male; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Cryopreserved embryos; Donation of human embryos; Embryo storage and use; In vitro fertilization; Research on human embryos; Status of human embryos; Warnock committee