Posthumous Reproduction

Posthumous reproduction can be achieved via retrieval and freezing of sperm cells from a male patient who has died or been declared brain dead. Women who wish to get pregnant after the untimely death of a spouse can do so via artificial insemination with these sperm cells. Because the ethics of postmortem sperm retrieval have been a subject of ethical debate, donation of sperm to a sperm bank after a patient has died may be legally restricted in certain areas. However, as of now it is allowed under the law in many places as an exercise of the surviving spouse’s reproduction rights.