High Court paves the way for drug trafficker freezing eggs to preserve chance at parenthood

Key points

• The High Court has ruled in favour of Rachel Smith, a convicted drug trafficker, who wants to freeze her eggs while in prison. Smith, 36, was sentenced to ten years in Queensland in July 2021.
• She argued she should be able to preserve her ability to have children after her release, and offered to pay for the procedure herself. The court found Queensland courts had misread the Corrective Services Act, which does not bar egg freezing for this purpose.
• The matter now returns to Queensland Corrective Services to decide whether the procedure can go ahead.