Battle over frozen embryos begins Monday

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - On Monday the battle over five frozen embryos will begin. The unprecedented case could have major implications, not just in San Francisco, but throughout the state and the country.

A divorce case set off this legal fight, and now a judge will decide whether to go with the wishes of the husband in the case, and have the embryos destroyed, or side with the wife, who wants them preserved.

The embryos were created through in-vitro fertilization and frozen at UCSF.

Shortly before Stepen Findley and Mimi Lee were married in September of 2010, Lee was diagnosed with cancer. Doctors said the treatment would leave Lee infertile.

Lee is now fighting to keep the embryos frozen as her lawyers say they’re her only option for having a biological child in the future.

Although according to the Mercury News, court papers show documents were signed by the couple stipulating that if certain circumstances occurred, including divorce, that the embryos would be destroyed.

The couple is expected to take a stand this week to tell their stories.

The outcome of this case could have legal implications throughout the country.