Losing Embryos, Finding Justice: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Personhood
Authors: I. Glenn Cohen, Dov Fox, Eli Y. Adashi
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2018)

Ideas and Opinions4 December 2018Losing Embryos, Finding Justice: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of PersonhoodI. Glenn Cohen, JD, Dov Fox, JD, DPhil, LLM, and Eli Y. Adashi, MD, MSI. Glenn Cohen, JDHarvard Law School and Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts (I.G.C.), Dov Fox, JD, DPhil, LLMUniversity of San Diego School of Law and Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics, University of San Diego, San Diego, California (D.F.), and Eli Y. Adashi, MD, MSWarren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island (E.Y.A.)Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M18-2483 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail On 3 March 2018, a liquid nitrogen storage tank broke down at University Hospitals Fertility Center in Cleveland, Ohio. More than 950 patients lost over 4000 eggs and embryos (also called "preembryos") that were frozen and stored for later use. The hospital's letter to patients pointed to human error. The Ohio Department of Health found the fertility center out of compliance, and inquests are still pending (1).This incident is not the first time that reproductive materials have been unintentionally discarded, destroyed, or otherwise harmed. Knowing how frequently such errors happen is difficult, but this event seems to have resulted ...References1. Snow K, Gardella R, Edwards E. University Hospitals fertility clinic failure affects more patients than thought. NBC Today. 27 March 2018. Accessed at www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/university-hospitals-fertility-clinic-failure-affects-more-patients-thought-n860291 on 16 October 2018. Google Scholar2. Fox D. Transparency challenges in reproductive health care. In: Cohen IG, Fernandez Lynch H, Evans B, eds. Transparency in Health and Health Care: Legal and Ethical Possibilities and Limits. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge Univ Pr; 2019. [Forthcoming.]. Google Scholar3. Wendy and Rick Penniman v. University Hospitals Health System, Inc. The Court of Common Pleas, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 30 March 2018. Accessed at www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/EmbryoPerson.pdf on 24 May 2018. Google Scholar4. ACB v. Thomson Medical Pte Ltd. [2017] SGHC 20 (Sing. March 22, 2017). Accessed at www.supremecourt.gov.sg/docs/default-source/module-document/judgement/ca17-2015–2017-sgca-20(ed)-thomsonmedicalfinal6-22mar17-pdf.pdf on 15 October 2018. Google Scholar5. Fox D. Reproductive negligence. Columbia Law Rev. 2017;117:149-234. Google Scholar6. Jeter v. Mayo Clinic Arizona, 121 P.3d 1256 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2005). Google Scholar7. Miller v. American Infertility Group of Illinois, 897 N.E.2d 837 (Ill. App. Ct. 2008). Google Scholar8. Egan v. Smith, 87 Ohio App. 3d 763 (Ohio Ct. App. 1993). Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Harvard Law School and Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts (I.G.C.)University of San Diego School of Law and Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics, University of San Diego, San Diego, California (D.F.)Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island (E.Y.A.)Note: Prof. Fox served as a consultant for counsel representing class-action plaintiffs whose eggs and embryos were lost at the Pacific Fertility Clinic in San Francisco, California. That case is not discussed in this commentary.Financial Support: None.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M18-2483.Corresponding Author: I. Glenn Cohen, JD, Harvard Law School, 1563 Massachusetts Avenue, Griswold 503, Cambridge, MA 02138; e-mail, [email protected]harvard.edu.Current Author Addresses: Prof. Cohen: Harvard Law School, 1563 Massachusetts Avenue, Griswold 503, Cambridge, MA 02138.Prof. Fox: University of San Diego, 5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA 92110.Dr. Adashi: 272 George Street, Providence, RI 02906.Author Contributions: Conception and design: I.G. Cohen, D. Fox, E.Y. Adashi.Drafting of the article: I.G. Cohen, D. Fox, E.Y. Adashi.Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content: I.G. Cohen, D. Fox, E.Y. Adashi.Final approval of the article: I.G. Cohen, D. Fox, E.Y. Adashi.This article was published at Annals.org on 20 November 2018. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byLawsuit frequency and claims basis over lost, damaged, and destroyed frozen embryos over a 10-year period 4 December 2018Volume 169, Issue 11Page: 800-801KeywordsDisclosureEmbryosForecastingGerm cellsHomicideIn vitro fertilizationResearch laboratoriesStem cellsSurgeryUterus ePublished: 20 November 2018 Issue Published: 4 December 2018 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2018 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...