Question

31. Should a man who loses custody of frozen embryos in a lawsuit be responsible for child support if his ex-wife is implanted with the embryos and becomes pregnant at a later date? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

Yes, he should be responsible. The right to life is protected from conception by various international human rights treaties, such as the American Convention on Human Rights. For this situation, from the moment a human being is conceived, that is, since the union of the female and male gametes, there are a series of rights that protect the person to be born. Among these rights, we find two fundamental human rights: the right to identity and the right to food, health and decent housing. Those rights, and all those that arise from these treaties, cannot be guaranteed by the embryos because they do not have such capacity. Therefore, they must be guaranteed by their parents, who regardless of whether or not they want the embryo, must comply with these requirements.