Can deceased men reproduce?

While it is possible to use a man's sperm after he has died, does that make it ethically correct?

This process is known as postmortem sperm retrieval or PMSR which means using a man's sperm after his death to fertilize an egg. This process is most commonly requested by the wife or parents of a young man who died unexpectedly in an accident before having a chance to have a child, and requests can also come from living, terminally ill men who wish to preserve sperm to be used after death. According to Fox News, The United States government currently doesn’t have regulations against it therefore medical institutions have to come up with their own rules to handle this sensitive and ethically questionable procedure. An ethical concern would be to question whether the deceased man has given permission to have his sperm used for reproduction after he has died. Another concern would be the interest of the child, whether a mother would want her child growing up knowing that the father had no knowledge of the child. The most reasonable answer is to first make sure that the father has given a sort of consent before he died. This could include a conversation with the potential mother about wanting to have a family, or future plans have been discussed that a family is an option. The morally ethical thing to do is to not reproduce anyone without having consent. Some institutions may follow this code of ethics strongly and require a written consent from the deceased before retrieving any sperm. Although the men who die unexpectedly may have never thought about death so soon, therefore a consent hasn’t been given, which would leave the woman looking for other outlets to retrieve the sperm.

I believe that postmortem sperm retrieval can be ethical in some instances because if a couple that have been trying to conceive all of a sudden lost the sperm donor then that opportunity has been lost, which is a tragedy. In the article I found it was said that in 2006 a judge ruled that the gift of sperm can be retrieved at the consent of the donor’s parents. I think this depends on how close the potential mother and the family are, because if the family doesn’t like the woman then they can deny the request and there’s no saying how that can affect the woman. The mother may feel comfortable enough to live through life raising a child that is a piece of a beloved. Where I have trouble understanding that is why would a woman want to conceive and raise a child on her own, or until a fitting father is found, without the father being alive. This could potentially mess the child up psychologically, and also the mother, knowing that a piece of the beloved is still living and the maker is not around to help or witness.

At the end of the day this is a personal choice of the family and the potential mother. I just think that much thought should be placed into this decision before it is executed and there are regrets later on.


http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/11/making-babies-after-death-it-possible-but-is-it-ethical/