Maddox, Neil (2020) Children of the Dead: Posthumous Conception, Critical Interests and Consent. Journal of Law and Medicine, 27. pp. 645-662. ISSN 1320-159X

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Abstract

Artificial Reproductive Technology now enables the conception of children after the death of their genetic father. This may be done through utilising gametes frozen prior to death, or through posthumous sperm retrieval a short time after death. There is little consensus on how posthumous conception should be dealt with by the law and this article examines alternative approaches to such regulation. The goal of any such regulatory regime should be the vindication of the deceased’s critical or objective interests after death. Alternative approaches risk instrumentalising the dead to serve the interests of the living, or weigh too heavily the deceased’s past decisional autonomy at the cost of respecting his or her likely wishes after death. Separate requirements should apply to applications for posthumous sperm retrieval and its subsequent use, with the former being less onerous given the emergency nature of the procedure and the latter involving a tribunal whose function is to consider how best to give effect to the deceased’s reproductive autonomy after death.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	posthumous conception; regulation; advance directives; consent; posthumous interests
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Law
Item ID:	18123
Depositing User:	Dr. Neil Maddox
Date Deposited:	06 Feb 2024 16:06
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Law and Medicine
Publisher:	Thomson Reuters
Refereed:	Yes
URI:
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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