Live Sperm, Dead Bodies

Abstract

Nolan presents a case study in which a parent requests that sperm be obtained and frozen from the body of his adult son who has been diagnosed as brain dead. Commentaries on the case, with its implications for artificial insemination and the conception of children after a father's death, are offered by Rothman, a urologist, and Ross, the associate director of a medical center program in medical ethics. Rothman, who has retrieved sperm from cadavers at the request of family members, argues for harvesting sperm in accordance with the rights and wishes of the deceased and/or their families. Ross believes that post-mortem sperm harvesting should not be permitted, because the "donors" would not be able to participate in the decision to beget children, and because "children should be assured of a relationship with their genetic parents based upon each parent's acceptance of the child's future existence."