Divorced Couple's Feud Over Embryo Can Muddle Fertility Clinics' Operations

Shortly after Mimi Lee and Stephen Findley divorced, giving up five years of marriage, the fate of their frozen embryos remain unknown and the battle for rights and custody went over the courts. The trial began on Monday at the San Francisco Country Superior Court, ABC News has learned.

LA Times cited that Dr. Mimi Lee, a Julliard-trained pianist and a part-time anesthesiologist, is fighting for her rights over the frozen embryos. This is her last hope of having a child long after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Her ex-husband, Stephen Findley, objects the utilization of the fertilized embryos and wants them destroyed.

Lee and Findley decided to freeze their embryos after learning that Lee's pre-wed diagnosed disease might make her infertile. Findley's sperm and Lee's eggs created five embryos, which are now housed in at the UC San Francisco Medical Center. The couple signed a directive that these embryos will be destroyed in an occasion of a divorce.

However, Lee, 46, would want to keep the embryos and use a surrogate to have a baby. She also added that she did not want any form of parental support from Findley. LA times notes that the two had an "extremely difficult" divorce clouded by financial disputes. 

The case of whether or not to destroy these embryos and the rights of custody over the unborn were taken to the courts after Findley sued his ex-wife opposing Lee's desire to use their embryos.

Findley testified as the first witness and argued that during the consent signing, Lee read the document and checked the box that indicated that the embryos would be destroyed if they divorce, and both signed.

Atty. Peter Skinner, Lee's lawyer, told CBS News, "She (Lee) said I don't want to destroy these embryos, I want to use them now. And now there's a dispute as to what should be done, which is why we think the court should balance those interests."

Dr. James Goldfarb, division chief of endocrinology and infertility at the University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, mentioned to ABC News that patients are always asked to sign a directive in an event that one or both of them dies or whether they have gotten a divorce, yet the enforceability of these agreements most likely should be anchored to the courts. In fact, this case might greatly affect the directions of fertility centers.

As per LA Times, Atty. Maxwell Pritt, Lee's other lawyer, claims that this case is a significant battle for women's rights to procreate and have children.