RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Woman wants dead fiancé’s baby: who owns a dead man’s sperm
JF Journal of Medical Ethics
JO J Med Ethics
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics
SP 384
OP 388
DO 10.1136/jme.2003.004432
VO 30
IS 4
A1 M Spriggs
YR 2004
UL http://jme.bmj.com/content/30/4/384.abstract
AB The Brisbane Supreme Court has denied an Australian woman’s request to harvest and freeze her dead fiancé’s sperm for future impregnation. After she was denied access to the sperm, the woman learnt that her fiancé may have been a sperm donor and she began checking to find out if his sperm was still available. Given what we know, there is a good ethical argument that the woman should have access to the sperm and should be allowed to have her dead fiancé’s child. Another aspect of this case is that it illustrates the way in which ethics, law, and personal opinion can differ.