Woman Faces Fight to Use Dead Partner's Sperm

The Chronicle (May 30, 2016): Woman Faces Fight to Use Dead Partner's Sperm, by Andrew Backhouse:

A Queensland woman, granted judicial permission to extract sperm from her deceased fiance will likely face a legal challenge to her use of the sperm to have a child with the aid of in vitro fertilization.  The partner's family has returned to New Zealand with his body and may well oppose her use of the extracted sperm.  The family gave permission for the extraction on an emergency basis because sperm is rendered useless for fertilization within twenty-four hours of a man's death.  The couple had been trying to conceive a child before the man's untimely death.  Friends of the couple appeared in court to testify about the couple's commitment and desire to have a family.  The presiding judged urged "mature reflection . . . whether to proceed with the use of any extracted material."