ST. LOUIS (AP) – The Missouri Court of Appeals is being asked to decide if a divorced St. Louis County couple’s frozen embryos are property or human beings with constitutional rights.
Jalesia McQueen is suing to be able to use the embryos to have more children. Her ex-husband, Justin Gadberry, says he doesn’t want any more children with McQueen and doesn’t believe he should be required to reproduce against his will.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the two frozen embryos have been stored in a lab in Virginia for six years. The couple has had joint custody of them since a family court commissioner ruled in 2015 that the embryos are “marital property.”
Attorneys for the former couple argued before the appeals court Tuesday. A decision is not expected for months.