1. Introduction
Like many contemporary ethical dilemmas, the question of who owns a frozen embryo arises as an unintended consequence of a technological advance. As in vitro fertilization (IVF), developed in 1987, came within the technical and financial reach of more and more couples, the number of frozen embryos stored in fertility clinics skyrocketed. According to the RAND Corporation, as of April 11, 2002, there was a total of 396,526 frozen embryos being stored in the United States. No one is entirely sure how many there are today, but some sources estimate that they number over 500,000 (
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