A German man has been told that he must pay child support for his son, who was born after his ex-wife forged his signature to become pregnant using their frozen embryos. 

The former couple, known only as Karl and Inge for privacy reasons, created frozen embryos by IVF during their relationship. After their separation, Inge used the embryos to become pregnant without Karl's knowledge, forging Karl's signature twice on the clinic's consent forms.  

Karl argued that he should not be responsible for the child's upkeep, and that the cost should fall to the clinic who allowed the embryo to be used without his permission. 

Munich's medical malpractice court ruled that the clinic was not liable, because Karl had been insufficiently clear when he telephoned to revoke his consent to the embryos being used, and so the staff had no reason to be suspicious of the signatures. 

The court's decision is not legally binding, and it is not yet clear if Karl will appeal. 

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Reproduced from BioNews with permission, a web- and email-based source of news, information and comment on assisted reproduction and human genetics, published by Progress Educational Trust.