A historic decision. After the death of a 30-year-old man from blood cancer in 2020 in Delhi (India), his parents received, after four years of legal battle, the right to recover their son’s sperm sample. The couple now want to use a surrogate mother to give birth to a grandchild that they will raise, reports the BBC.
On the advice of doctors, the young patient had his sperm frozen before starting his chemotherapy. After his death, the hospital refused to give the sample to the parents, believing that they were not the logical heirs of this property. The authorities considered that the law on assisted procreation could not be used in this case.
“We will be able to get our son back”
The parents then approached the Delhi High Court to win their case. And that’s what happened on October 4. “Under Indian law, nothing prohibits posthumous reproduction,” said the judge, emphasizing that the deceased thirty-year-old had no children or spouse, which made his parents his legal successors.
“We were very unlucky, we lost our son,” the mother said. “But the court gave us a very precious gift. We will now be able to get our son back. » At the hearing, the two sixty-year-olds committed to raising the child. If they were to die, the thirty-year-old’s sisters would take over. The surrogate mother has already been chosen from within the family.
Similar court decisions have been handed down in India, the United States and Israel in recent years. But there is no international consensus on the issue. Even in the case of law, it most often concerns posthumous procreation from a spouse, and not from a parent. In France, this practice is prohibited even with written consent from the deceased person.
Related News :