Analysis Of Davis V. Davis

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Davis v. Davis deals with a couple from Knoxville, TN, Junior Lewis Davis and Mary Sue Davis (now Stowe), who eventually turned to in vitro fertilization (IVF) after having much difficult conceiving naturally. Five unsuccessful tubal pregnancies and six attempts of IVF implantations later, the couple allowed the facility to cryogenically preserve their last remaining ova in their final efforts. Their marriage ultimately came to an end, resulting in this dispute regarding the disposition of their “frozen embryos”. The couple was unable to come to an agreement from the very beginning to the end, with Mary Sue initially wanting the embryos with the intent to transfer to her own uterus and Junior wanting them to remain frozen until he decided to …show more content…

Tennessee’s wrongful death statute does not allow a wrongful death for a viable fetus that is not first born alive. If there is no live birth, the fetus is not considered a “person” and are not entitled to the same protection as people. The Supreme Court stated that “the unborn have never been recognized in the law as persons in the whole sense”, however some flexibility is considered but viability remains the critical point. Ultimately, the Report of Ethics Committee of American Fertility Society refers to the preembryos as neither person or property, but rather a special respect to protect the welfare of potential offspring and create obligations to prevent any harm to those potentially born after transfer. Therefore, the preembryos occupy a special category requiring respect for potential of human life. I personally agree with this viewpoint, as it acts as the middle ground in determining that the preembryos do not possess rights as people do, but require the same amount of respect due to the potential of becoming a constitutionally-protected person. In Roe v. Wade, the state’s interest in potential human life justifies the statutes that have an impact on one’s right to procreational autonomy. As a woman successfully enters each of the three trimesters, the state’s interest in protecting the potential life increases. This differs significantly when comparing to the preembryos

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