Widower gains the right to use the baby-making embryo he shared with late wife

• A widower was given new hope for a family.
• A judge decided he can use an embryo developed with his late wife to conceive a child after her tragic death.
• HFEA, however, denied his application because it would be illegal without his wife’s written consent.

After a judge decided he can use an embryo developed with his late wife to conceive a child after her tragic death, a widower was given new hope for a family.

When Fern-Marie Choya, 40, was 18 weeks pregnant with twin girls, her womb ruptured, and she died in 2019.

Since 2013, Ms. Choya and her 38-year-old spouse Ted Jennings have gone through several IVF treatments.

The couple’s sole remaining embryo, which was conceived using his sperm and his wife’s eggs, was intended for use by Mr. Jennings of north London “in therapy with a surrogate mother.”

The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA), however, denied his application because it would be illegal without his wife’s written consent.

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In a decision issued by the High Court on Wednesday, Mrs. Justice Theis expressed her “satisfaction” that Ms. Choya had given her authorization to use the embryo in the case of her passing.

A form completed during the IVF process was “far from clear” in its instructions regarding what a woman should do in the event of her death, which led the judge to the additional conclusion that Ms. Choya had not been given enough chance to provide the consent in writing.

The Trinidadian accountant, Ms. Choya, passed away in February 2019 “tragically and without warning,” according to the judgement.

After ten years of marriage, Mr. Jennings and his wife expressed their desperation to start a family in court.

Ms. Choya had two naturally occurring pregnancies, however both of them ended in miscarriages because of ectopic pregnancies. After that, she endured three unsuccessful IVF cycles.

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The judge also took into account testimony from Ms. Choya’s relatives, who she claimed were speaking “with one voice” regarding her final wishes.

One of her four sisters provided testimony, stating that she “wholeheartedly” believed Ms. Choya would want Mr. Jennings to use the frozen embryo in surrogate therapy.