Oral arguments are set to take place Tuesday morning in Colorado Supreme Court in the case of Drake and Mandy Rooks. The couple had created six frozen embryos through in vitro fertilization years ago, and now that they’re divorcing, there’s a disagreement over what to do with them. Court is expected to being at 9:00 a.m. local time/11:00 a.m. EST. Watch live in the player above.
Several similar cases have come up in the past with varying results, but the constitutional issues raised in this one could have a long-standing impact should the case end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. In the meantime, the high court in Colorado will rule on the matter.
“Constitution questions are front and center in a way that they have not been in the other cases,” Harvard Law Professor I. Glenn Cohen told The Washington Post. One such question is rooted in a similar issue as the landmark abortion case, Roe v. Wade: the right to choose not to procreate. In this case, however, Drake Rooks’ claimed right not to have a child he doesn’t want is up against Mandy Rooks’ claimed right to have the child.
Mandy’s attorney, Katayoun Donnelly, told the Post that while Drake claims a right not to procreate, “he forgets it is past the point of conception.”
The couple already has three children, all through IVF, and a court awarded them joint custody. A judge had previously granted Drake custody of the frozen embryos, and now Mandy is fighting it. She lost an appeal before a lower court.
