The Validity of Contracts to Dispose of Frozen Embryos.

• Author: Pennings, G.
• Position: Abstracts

G. Pennings, The Validity of Contracts to Dispose of Frozen Embryos, 28 J. MED. ETHICS 295 (2002).

The widespread abandonment of frozen embryos by the gamete providers or intentional parents urgently demands a solution. Most centers react by requiring patients to enter a prior agreement governing the future disposition of their embryos in all foreseeable circumstances. These dispositional directives are inappropriate and self-defeating in the event of contingencies in which the patients remain competent to execute an updated directive. Internal and external changes may invalidate the prior directive by altering the situation represented by the couple at the initiation of treatment to such an extent that it no longer corresponds with the actual situation at the time of the execution of the disposition.

The main purpose of requesting advance directives for the disposition of cryopreserved embryos is to extend the autonomy and control of the intentional parents. At present, the practice has been derailed into a system in which they are asked...