Judge declines to appoint guardian for frozen embryos

PONTIAC, Mich. – A suburban Detroit judge has declined to appoint a guardian for frozen embryos while she determines whether she can intervene in a dispute over their control.

Gloria Karungi wants custody over as many as 10 frozen embryos. She believes a baby born from one of them could potentially help a daughter with sickle cell disease. But her former partner no longer wants to participate. Ronaldlee Ejalu says his consent to implant an embryo is necessary, under a contract with a clinic.

Judge Lisa Langton on Tuesday rejected Karungi’s request to appoint a guardian over the embryos. She says it’s outside the scope of her immediate task: whether the Family Division of Oakland County court has any authority in a contract dispute.

Langton will hear arguments next Wednesday. Ejalu wants the case dismissed.