Colorado Court Of Appeals Rules For Privacy Rights In Embryo Dispute

_{Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash}

Author’s note: the Olsen and Rooks opinions use the term “pre-embryo.” Here, I use the more colloquial term “embryo” — but mean “pre-embryo” or a fertilized egg not transferred or implanted into a human reproductive tract.

The first baby born from an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure is now 44 years old. We’ve had over four decades to decide what embryos are, legally speaking, and how to resolve disputes over their control and use. Unfortunately, that analysis has yet to become simple or easy. As a recent Colorado case demonstrates, the attempt to fairly balance the parties’ interests in a fight over embryos is difficult, to say the least. And the shockwaves of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs case — overturning Roe and Casey — is likely to muddy the waters even further.

On June 23, 2022, the Colorado Court of Appeals issued an important ruling in the case of In re Marriage of Olsen. This was not this case’s first visit to the Centennial State’s Court...