Hope for widow

Clinic must hand over sperm from dead husband

A clinic must hand over the frozen sperm of her deceased husband to a woman for artificial insemination following a ruling by the Frankfurt Regional Court in summary proceedings. The clinic had refused to do so because a contract with the husband during his lifetime provided for the sperm to be destroyed after his death, according to the court.

In addition, the Embryo Protection Act prohibits artificial insemination with the sperm of a deceased person. In the opinion of the clinic, employees are at risk of criminal prosecution. The regional court took a different view and granted the woman's urgent appeal. The contract did not oblige the clinic to destroy the frozen sperm. The protective purpose of the Embryo Protection Act is not affected in this case.

"Common desire to have children"
"The applicant's affidavit conclusively and without contradiction shows the couple-related, individual development of the desire to have children. She states that there was a common desire to have children, but that her early death prevented it from being realized during her lifetime and that the deceased husband ultimately directed his will towards having a child together after his death," it says in a statement. A violation of the fundamental rights of the future child or a risk to the child's welfare was not to be feared. 

There is no risk of criminal liability for the employees of the clinic. The artificial insemination planned in Spain is possible under Spanish law regardless of the prospects of success and an ethical or moral assessment. The decision is not yet legally binding, but gives the widow hope that she will be able to fulfill her wish to have a child.