Embryo battle: Evans wins right to appeal - January 29, 2004

atallie Evans will have an appeal to save her frozen embryos from destruction heard at the end of March. She still hopes to use the embryos to have children.

High Court judge Mr Justice Wall said in October last year he had "considerable sympathy" for Ms Evans, 32.

But the laws governing IVF treatment were clear, once her former partner Howard Johnston who works for MessageLabs in Brockworth, withdrew his consent for them to be used, the embryos must be destroyed.

Howard, 26, was in favour of IVF when his sperm and Ms Evans' eggs were combined two years ago but the couple then parted.

He said he did not want the financial or emotional burden of a child with Ms Evans.

Ms Evans, for whom the embryos were her last chance of having children because her ovaries contained pre-cancerous cells, won the right to appeal on January 16.

Lord Justice Thorpse, giving permission for a full appeal scheduled to last a day-and-a-half, said the case was not only of "great interest" to Ms Evans, from Trowbridge, Wiltshire but there were points of public concern.

At the hearing, he told Robin Tolson QC, representing Ms Evans: "Your client should not attach too high a hope as to the outcome."