J.B. v. M.B.

J.B. (plaintiff) underwent IVF using genetic material from her husband, M.B. (defendant), at a fertility center. Of eleven fertilized pre-embryos, four were implanted (resulting in a daughter) and seven were cryopreserved. The consent form signed before the procedure said ownership of any leftover pre-embryos would go to the center upon divorce unless a court ordered otherwise. When J.B. later filed for divorce, she asked the court to order the pre-embryos destroyed; M.B. wanted them implanted or donated, and claimed the parties had actually agreed the pre-embryos would never be destroyed. The trial court sided with J.B., reasoning her interest in not procreating outweighed M.B.'s interest in a future chance to father a child; the appellate division affirmed, and the state supreme court took the case.