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From Death to Life: Ethical Issues in Postmortem Sperm Retrieval as a Source of New Life

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2020

BRIAN M. CUMMINGS  and
JOHN J. PARIS
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Abstract

This paper examines and critiques the ethical issues in postmortem sperm retrieval and the use of postmortem sperm to create new life. The article was occasioned by the recent request of the parents of a West Point cadet who died in a skiing accident at the Academy to retrieve and use his sperm to honor his memory and perpetuate the family name. The request occasioned national media attention. A trial court judge in New York in a two-page order authorized both the retrieval and use of the postmortem sperm.

Keywords

postmortem sperm retrievalimpregnation using postmortem sperm retrievalparental rights over progeny’s reproductioncourt decision postmortem sperm retrieval
Type
Special Section: Death, Dilemmas, and Decisions
Information
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics , Volume 29 , Issue 3 , July 2020 , pp. 369 - 374
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

Notes

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