California Woman Cannot Use Frozen Sperm of Dead Husband
Recently, the Third District Court of Appeals in Sacramento ruled on the disposition of a dead man’s sperm. The case, which began in late 2005, followed from the death of Joseph Kievernagel who had deposited sperm for him and his wife to use in their attempt at IVF beginning a month before his death.
However, after he died, his wife Iris sought custody of the sperm that he had deposited in order to become pregnant with his child. A Superior Court judge refused citing the fact that Joseph had checked a box on their clinic’s consent form that said that his sperm was to be discarded upon his death. Iris appealed this decision with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which handed down their decision recently stating that Joseph, as the donor, “had the sole decision-making authority as to the use of his sperm for reproduction.”
This ruling is a milestone for the field of reproductive law in that it provides courts with much needed guidance as to whether or not the informed consent contracts should stand as a legally binding document.
