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Appellate court hears oral arguments in frozen embryo case

The Illinois Appellate Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in the case of an Elgin man seeking to prevent his ex-girlfriend from using embryos created from his sperm and her eggs without his permission.

Jacob Szafranski, a firefighter/paramedic and registered nurse, and Karla Dunston, an emergency physician, met in 2001 and began dating in November 2009, according to court documents. In March 2010, Dunston was diagnosed with lymphoma. Informed that the necessary chemotherapy would cause her to become infertile, Dunston - who wanted to have a biological child of her own - decided to freeze her eggs, which Szafranski agreed to fertilize with his sperm, court documents show.

They both subsequently signed a form stating that the embryos they created would not be used unless both Szafranski and Dunston consented, said Szafranski's attorney Brian Schroeder.

A month after the embryos were created, the couple broke up, at which time Szafranski indicated he had changed his mind after friends reacted negatively to the idea, Schroeder said. Szafranski filed suit to prevent him from being "forced to become a father against his will," Schroeder said.

A Cook County judge ruled in favor of Dunston, but Szafranski prevailed on appeal and the case was remanded to the circuit court earlier this year. At that time, Szafranski testified he was concerned about his privacy and his financial obligations to a child born from one of the embryos.

Judge Sophia H. Hall ruled in May of this year that a March 2010 oral agreement between the two indicated that Dunston did not need Szafranski's consent to use the embryos. Hall also weighed the interest of both parties, court records show, and found that "Karla's desire to have a biological child in the face of the impossibility of having one without using the embryos outweighs Jacob's privacy concerns."

Schroeder says he is confident the appellate court will reverse Hall's ruling.

"We're asking that agreement be enforced," said Schroeder, pointing to the informed consent document the former couple signed in March 2010, indicating both must consent to using the embryos.

Dunston's attorneys, however, argued in court that Szafranski chose to donate sperm to help Dunston, according to ABC 7 reports. Her lawyers say Szafranski promised Dunston that she could use the embryos to have children and insist Szafranski would not have legal or financial obligations to any future children, according to ABC 7.

Schroeder expects the appellate court to rule sometime next year. If the appellate court rules against Szafranski, Schroeder says he will appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court and, if necessary, the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Sometimes technology outpaces the law," he said. "Until this case, Illinois didn't have any standard on how to resolve this issue."

"This has broader ramifications outside of Jacob and Karla," Schroeder added.

Attempts to contact Dunston's attorney and Szafranski for comment were unsuccessful.

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