The challenges of posthumous reproduction

The challenges of posthumous reproduction

Sub: Polity

Sec: Legislation in news

Context:

• The Delhi High Court recently allowed the parents of a deceased unmarried man to use his frozen semen for posthumous reproduction.
• The man had preserved the semen during chemotherapy before his death in September 2020.

Existing Legal Framework

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Act, 2021:

• Governs fertility, infertility, gamete donation, and surrogacy.
• Does not specifically address posthumous use of cryopreserved gametes by legal heirs.
• Clause 24(f) permits collection of gametes posthumously but only with prior consent of a “commissioning couple,” defined as an infertile married couple.
• The Act applies only to infertile married couples and does not specify unmarried individuals or grandparents.

Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2022:

• Focuses on regulating surrogacy arrangements but lacks provisions for cases involving unmarried deceased individuals.

Issues with the court order:

• The High Court order emphasises that the consent was not implied but explicitly expressed by the deceased.
• In the absence of clarity in the law, the Court’s acceptance of this consent raised questions.
• The Court treated the semen as part of the deceased’s estate, likening it to human biological material. However, critiques warn this approach commodifies human tissues, reinforcing patriarchal and capitalist systems.