Abstract

KIE: An Australian case involving a wealthy couple, Mario and Elsa Rios, who died without arranging for the disposition of two of the woman's fertilized ova in frozen storage has renewed debate over the legal and moral aspects of in vitro fertilization. Experts doubt that the zygotes are still viable, but questions have been raised about their legal status, their inheritance rights, and the possibility of implanting them in the womb of a surrogate mother. Disposition of unused fertilized eggs in the United States is currently governed by informal guidelines, although a public consensus on the issues raised by new and future reproductive technologies has not been attained.