User:Ahowel10/Embryo cryopreservation

Lead
Copied from Embryo Cryopreservation and edited.

History
The cryopreservation of embryos was first successfully attempted in 1984 in the case of Zoe Leyland, the first baby to be born from a frozen embryo. In Zoe’s case, the embryo had been frozen for two months, but since the inception of the practice of cryopreservation after successful IVF, embryos have successfully survived in cryopreservation extensively longer periods of time, spanning even decades. The long-term implications of freezing embryos are demonstrated in the case of Molly Everette Gibson, the child born from the viable pregnancy of her mother who used an embryo, which had been stored in a cryogenic freezer for twenty-seven years.

Implications
The practice of cryopreservation of embryos has increased in recent years. While the original purpose of freezing embryos was to help heterosexual couples who struggled with infertility, the practice has become an increasingly common avenue to start a family for homosexual couples, single women, as well as surrogates. Prior to successful attempts to effectively freeze embryos for later use, individuals were limited in their assisted reproductive technology options to in vitro fertilization (IVF), whereby sperm and egg were combined in a lab to create the embryos, all of which then had to be immediately implanted into the mother. Cryopreservation enables the embryos to be safely stored for extensive periods of time. Individuals are then able choose the proper time to use the embryos as well as elect to use only one embryo at a time while saving the others for later use. Doing so reduces the possibility of conceiving twins or triplets, thus allowing parents to exercise greater control over their vision for their families. Additionally, embryos may be tested and manipulated to eliminate genetic diseases.

Legal Implications
While the cryopreservation of embryos has been characterized by great scientific developments over the years, the treatment of allocation of embryos in the event of a divorce or separation of the parties is a broadening and still less developed area of the law which continues to present challenges for the courts today. Politicians, state legislatures, and courts grapple with a multitude of legal issues surrounding families created using fertility treatments in view of divergent moral, political, and legal discourse throughout the United States. For example, in Illinois, the courts employ at least two clear approaches to determining how embryos are allocated in the event of a divorce or separation of the parties. Specifically, the courts seek to enforce any contractual language surrounding the allocation of the embryos, and they also employ a balancing test of the parties’ interests alongside the contractual approach or simply as an alternative approach if no contract exists. State courts are often left to decide these issues as statutory resources are not well-developed across the states. For example, in Illinois, the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 has contemplated situations in which parties, represented by independent legal counsel, enter into contractual agreements regarding the allocation of embryos, but no uniform statutory answer exists for situations in which parties failed to enter into such written agreements regarding allocation.