In a landmark decision, the Delhi High Court has ruled that utilizing a deceased individual's sperm for posthumous reproduction is lawful, provided there is explicit consent from the deceased prior to their passing. This judgment was delivered in response to a petition filed by the parents of a 30-year-old man who succumbed to cancer in 2020. During his treatment, anticipating potential infertility due to chemotherapy, the man had preserved a sample of his sperm at a hospital's fertility lab. Following his death, his parents sought access to this sample to continue their son's lineage.
The hospital, however, declined to release the sperm without a court directive, prompting the parents to approach the High Court. They contended that as their son's legal heirs, they were entitled to his genetic material and expressed their commitment to assume full responsibility for any child conceived using the sperm, whether through surrogacy or other assisted reproductive methods.
Justice Prathiba M. Singh, presiding over the case, emphasized that under current Indian law, there is no prohibition against posthumous reproduction if the consent of the sperm or egg owner is evident. She stated, "In the opinion of this Court, under the prevailing Indian law, there is no prohibition against posthumous reproduction if the consent of the sperm owner or egg owner can be demonstrated." The court recognized the preserved sperm as the deceased's property, to which the parents, as legal heirs, have rightful access.
The judgment also highlighted that in Indian culture, it is not uncommon for grandparents to raise grandchildren, especially in situations where the biological parents are absent due to separation, divorce, or death. The court observed, "In India, it is not unusual for grandparents to exclusively bring up children, especially in the absence of the real parents due to separation, divorce, or demise. The cultural and societal ethos does not shun grandparents from being given custody of children as well."
Furthermore, the court noted that with advancements in medical science enabling infertile couples to conceive, the aspirations of grandparents to continue their deceased child's legacy should not be thwarted. The ruling stated, "With the expansion of modern science enabling infertile couples to have children, the hope of grandparents to continue the legacy of their young deceased son who had got his sperm sample preserved cannot be defeated."
Consequently, the court directed the hospital to release the stored sperm sample to the deceased man's parents, stipulating that it should not be used for any commercial or monetary purposes. This decision underscores the importance of explicit consent in matters of posthumous reproduction and acknowledges the evolving dynamics of family structures and reproductive rights in contemporary society.
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