International Embryo Disputes. Important Things to Know

Monday, November 25, 2024

Embryo disputes can be complex and challenging, especially when they cross international borders. Understanding the legal implications in different jurisdictions is crucial for anyone navigating these sensitive situations. In this video, Award Winning Surrogacy Lawyer Stephen Page discusses the things you need to be aware of in an international embryo dispute.

Transcript

Good day. I’m Stephen Page from Page Provan Family and Fertility Lawyers. Welcome to this video. In an earlier video, I talked about resolving embryo disputes. Now, one of the things that… So please go and have a look at that. And I’m talking about embryo disputes today, but not embryo disputes that are happening here.

What I’ve seen in a number of cases is where embryo disputes have occurred across international borders. And these are particularly interesting because from a legal perspective, not so much if you’re in the midst of it, because there are different rules in different places, really as simple as that. Is an embryo treated in that country as being owned as property or not? Can it be exported from there? Who is the parent as a result of the use of that embryo? And if it’s here, and there’s some kind of judgment overseas, can that judgment be enforced here? And will the genetic father, for example, be treated as a parent? So that’s certainly been stretching my brain at times, looking at those cases. And I can say definitively that an overseas marriage type order may be able to be enforced in Australia when it deals with the embryos. Certainly considered that in a previous matter.

And with care, the biological parent who does not want to use the embryo will not be a parent—a lawful parent—of that child, at least in Australia. But of course, the child may not be born in Australia, may be born overseas, so there has to be consideration overseas whether the biological parent will be a lawful parent in the other country.

So, it’s important with these international embryo matters that there are lawyers at both ends because the laws in different places are different. So, if you’re in the situation of having one of those, reach out, and often there is a solution which you may not have thought about.

I’m Stephen Page from Page Provan Family and Fertility Lawyers.

Thank you for watching this video.