Employment Protection During Pregnancy - When a women undergoing fertility treatment is viewed as being pregnant

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13 March 2008

In a decision given on 26 February 2008, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on whether a woman undergoing fertilisation treatment (involving in vitro fertilisation of her ova outside of her body) is entitled to the employment and health and safety protections provided by the European Directive for women who are pregnant, or who have recently given birth, or who are breastfeeding.

The case, Sabine Mayr v Bäckerei und Konditorei Gerhard Flöckner OHG, involved an Austrian woman who was dismissed by her employer while she was receiving fertility treatment. The ECJ ruled that the protections provided by the Directive and the national laws implementing the Directive do not apply to a woman who is undergoing in vitro fertilisation treatment where her ova have already been fertilised by her partner's sperm cells, so that in vitro fertilised ova exist but have not yet been transferred into her uterus.

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Further information:
Sabine Mayr v Bäckerei und Konditorei Gerhard Flöckner OHG
Press Release