After embryo production, the couple could be separated or the partner could have changed
his mind on the use of excessive embryos or lost the desire to transfer them. This makes no
legal difference, a man has the right to deny his consent to reproduction up to the moment of
fertilisation: straight after fertilisation, the man loses all rights on embryo reproduction to the
woman. The 40/2004 law on assisted reproduction gives the woman this right regardless of
whether her partner gave his genetic material for fertilisation, whether the frozen embryo was
produced with the gametes of a donor or with that of her partner: in both cases, the woman has
the right to decide alone and, if so, even against her partner’s wish to try and have a child from
the embryo. We will examine whether it is right to give the woman exclusive embryo rights.
Our conclusion will be that there are no truly convincing reasons to leave to the woman alone
the right to decide on in vitro produced embryos, in that the birth of an unwanted child can
cause damage to the health of women as well as men. We are though aware of the importance
that in vitro and possibly cryoconserved embryos may have for one who years before launched
an assisted reproduction path. For this reason, we think that the law should recall that even
significant changes occurring recently in the field of reproduction and foresee the man’s
possibility of agreeing to his partner’s possible request to for embryo transfer, without being
obliged to recognise the son and cover maintenance fees.
