The mistress of a dead man in China who tried to inherit his assets by giving birth to a son using embryo transfer surgery, has shocked mainland social media.
The woman, surnamed Leng, from Guangdong province in southeastern China, sued her deceased lover’s wife for a portion of his estate, but the court did not support her claims, Guangzhou Daily reported.
The dispute began after the death of the man, surnamed Wen, in a traffic accident in January 2021.
Prior to his death, Leng had frozen some eggs which she said had been fertilised by Wen’s sperm at a private clinic.
In December 2021, Leng successfully delivered a baby boy she named Xiaowen.
Believing Xiaowen had a right to inherit some of his deceased father’s assets, Leng filed a lawsuit on his behalf in August last year.
She demanded Wen’s wife share part of the estate with Xiaowen, including property, insurance benefits and company equity shares.
It is not clear if Wen’s wife responded, but she was apparently unaware that Leng had given birth to Xiaowen by embryo transfer surgery.
During the trial, Leng could not prove that the frozen eggs were fertilised by Wen, nor could she prove that he had given her permission to use his sperm to have a baby.
As a result, the court dismissed her claim.
Feng Qinjuan, a lawyer at the Tahota Law Firm in Beijing, said that the Civil Code enacted in 2021, stipulates that any living foetus in a mother’s body is entitled to inheritance and gifts.
Feng added that whether a frozen embryo has the same rights is unclear because there is no law for that.
Another lawyer, Huang Dehao, from Zhonglun W&D Law Firm in Zhengzhou, east central China, said embryo transfer surgery at qualified private clinics is legal, but surgery should be agreed upon by the owners of frozen embryos.
At the time of writing, the story on Weibo news had attracted 4,201 comments, with many online observers criticising the mistress.
“How terrible! She’ll do anything for money,” one person said.
“Her poor son. He comes into the world as a bargaining chip,” said another.
“I hope the wife makes a counter-claim against the mistress,” a third person chimed in.