The High Court has ruled that a husband involved in a row over the fate of three frozen embryos did not give consent for them to be implanted in his wife.
In a preliminary judgment in the case, Mr Justice McGovern said there had been no agreement either expressed or implied between the couple about what to do with the three frozen embryos that were surplus following IVF treatment.
Mr Justice McGovern also ruled that the 44-year-old man never gave implied consent to the later implantation of those frozen embryos.
The court will now move on to consider constitutional and public policy aspects of the case.
The pro-life campaign has said it is confident that the right to life of the three frozen embryos will be vindicated.
The married couple, who are now separated, sought fertility treatment at a Dublin clinic early in 2002.
The treatment was successful, and the woman gave birth to a baby daughter in October 2002.
Three of the six embryos created during the IVF process were unused, and were frozen.
In December 2002 the marriage broke down, and the couple separated.
The 41-year-old woman is now seeking to have the frozen embryos thawed and implanted in her womb.
But the clinic will not release the embryos because her estranged husband is opposed to having any more children.
