When a man dies, he dies in pieces.
First, his heart stops beating, and soon after, his brain shuts down. The part of the dead man that carries life, his sperm, does not die until more than a day later. Technically, that sperm can still be used to procreate, and in some cases, that's exactly what spouses or parents of the deceased want. But can they?
Jenny Morber asked this for a piece in Mosaic about the legal and ethical precedent for using a dead man's sperm to make a baby. Turns out, there isn't much.
The first baby created with post-mortem sperm was born in 1999. Morber reports that even though 70 percent of men surveyed said their spouses could use their sperm after death, the cases have only trickled in since, so there isn't a standard procedure.
The dead man's wishes are an issue as well. As Science of Us asks, "Is it okay to treat a dead man as a sperm donor if he hadn't expressly indicated that it was okay before he died?" His consent is not on file; it's not like there is a "post-mortem sperm donor" seal on his driver license.
And even if a man consents to having his sperm extracted via surgery or shock-induced ejaculation after he dies, the child he fathers might not even have a right to collect Social Security benefits—the child was not technically a dependent when the father died. Plus, the child will be fatherless from day one, which could lead to a whole other set of issues.
At this point, is it worth it to create life from a dead man? And did you even think about this question before today?
posted from Bloggeroid
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