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    Children of the Dead: Posthumous Conception, Critical Interests and Consent


    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: https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/18123
    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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