A woman serving a 10-year prison term in Queensland for drug trafficking has won an appeal in Australia's highest court regarding her right to freeze her eggs while incarcerated.
Rachel Smith, who will be 39 when eligible for parole, sought approval for egg freezing to mitigate the risk of age-related infertility. Corrections Queensland had previously argued that egg extraction and freezing constituted "assisted reproductive technology," which is prohibited under the Corrective Services Act 2006.
Smith challenged this interpretation, taking her case to the supreme court and then the state's court of appeal, both of which were unsuccessful. However, the High Court accepted her appeal and found in her favour on Wednesday, concluding that the Queensland courts had "misconstrued" the Act.
Justice Jayne Jagot stated that Ms Smith was entitled to apply for egg extraction and freezing by her nominated health practitioner, as it is not considered "assisted reproductive technology." The court has set aside the lower courts' orders and instructed Corrections Queensland to determine Smith's application again according to the law, as soon as reasonably possible. Corrections was also ordered to pay Smith's legal costs.