In a day and age of technology it is now possible to extract sperm from a dead man’s body, and it occurs more than you would think. The process of taking a dead man’s sperm might be possible but there are serious legal and ethical questions that surround the process.
In the case of a sudden death in a relationship that is trying to have children, there is now a chance for the living partner to extract the sperm from the dead man to use to fall pregnant. This may seem very out of the ordinary, but for a grieving partner having the possibility to still be able to have the children of their dead partner can be very comforting. The idea of this process, whilst being appealing to some, has raised serious questions for others. The main issues are the lack of consent, the man not being able to raise his child and issues that the man’s family might have with the process.
When it comes to the issues with extracting a dead man’s sperm one of the main questions asked is regarding the lack of consent from the dead man due to his inability to consent to the process. In the eyes of the law there is no need for consent to be expressed if the couple have genuinely talked about and planned to have children. In recent cases, parents of the dead man have expressed issues with the man not being able to father his own child and whether this should be allowed to occur. Parents have stated "I believe that [name of partner] would not have wanted a child brought into this world if he could not be there to raise it".
When looking back on cases in which woman have successfully extracted their late partners sperm, it has been found that very few actually go through and conceive a child with the sperm. This is due the fact that for the first stage you have only 36 hours to extract the sperm and so this is an emotional and rushed process, this often leads to later on the woman reconsidering with more time to think about the actions.
If you or someone you know wish to discuss this issue further, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 8999 9809.