Court Orders Preservation of Deceased Man's Semen Amid Family Dispute

The Bombay High Court has intervened in a case where a fertility centre was instructed to preserve the semen of a deceased man pending a legal petition by his mother. Despite the man's consent to discard it post-death, the mother wishes to use it for progeny, raising complex ethical and legal questions.

The Bombay High Court has directed a city fertility centre to preserve the frozen semen of an unmarried deceased man while a petition by his mother is reviewed. She seeks to use the semen to continue the family line despite his prior consent to discard it after his death.

The case emerged when the fertility centre denied the mother's request, as the deceased had previously stated in consent forms to discard the semen post-death. He had frozen his semen while undergoing chemotherapy as part of cancer treatment. The matter highlights ethical dilemmas under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021.

Presiding over the case, Justice Manish Pitale emphasized the need to preserve the specimen until further hearings on the petition. The court aims to address pivotal issues related to semen preservation protocols post-mortem as dictated by recent legislative guidelines.

(With inputs from agencies.)