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Requests for post-mortem sperm retrieval are increasing while legislative arrangements relevant to such requests and the problems raised by these requests are minimal. The typical requests for post-mortem sperm retrieval (PMSR) comes from the wife of a recently deceased man who, before her husband’s death, would have welcomed pregnancy. However, other requests are much more complex such as those of parents who wish to preserve the possibility of having grandchildren. In the face of increasing requests for PMSR many medical institutions are developing ethical guidelines to help them process such request. The following are an example of the ethical guidelines adopted by some medical centers:
1. Intended consent of the deceased
2. Next of kin or legal consent
3. Sudden death
4. The consent to a one-year period of quarantine of specimens for bereavement
In the absence of clear documentation, PMSR raises troubling issues that must be addressed:
• Who has the right to request PMSR?
• Who will get custody of the retrieved sperm?
• What happens if the deceased wife and his parents both want the sperm?
• What happens if the wife requests the sperm and the deceased family are against the procedure for religious reasons?
• What potential psychological burdens would be placed on a child conceived following the death of her biological father when it was the child’s grandparents who made the request?
Many would argue that PMSR is unjustified until there are better mechanisms for addressing the many ethical questions raised by this procedure and until court rulings have established legal precedent. Others conclude that a request for PMSR should not be honored unless there is convincing evidence that the deceased widow would want to carry and bear his posthumously conceived offspring. It is also widely cautioned that even when consent is affirmed, medical professionals should also consider the welfare of the potential child. This caution is well made given that evidentiary standards for such decision making is difficult to define and far from clear.
For further Reading:
Virtual Mentor
American Medical Association Journal of Ethics
September 2007, Volume 9, Number 9: 630-634.
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at February 27, 2008 3:27 PM
