By turns poignant and thought-provoking, Gisela Marrero's legal battle to harvest her dead fiance's sperm tested the limits of medical ethics.
In the end, four hours before the deceased's semen would no longer be viable (it remains so for only 36 hours after someone dies), the Bronx State Supreme Court approved her request and sperm bank employees rushed to his body.
What led everyone to this legal tangle began as a tragedy. 31-year-old Johnny Quintana, Marrero's partner with whom she already had a baby, died suddenly of a suspected heart attack. Marrero claims that hours before his death, she and Quintana had talked about having another baby. "This was his wish," she said. "It's the last thing I can do for him." Click here to read more about Marrero and a similar case that preceded hers.
Andy Warhol for Levi's
By Malene Birger
Tod's
I heard about this. Lots of legal implications like, now this kid can inherit Dad's property . . . with Mom as trustee of course.
1sick woman.
2I totally agree. Really dark and disturbed stuff from this woman. If my husband died, this would be the absolute last thing from my mind.
Bri
3Ummm while I wouldn't do this myself I don't necessarily think anything is wrong with it many men save sperm for a rainy day. It's that they have to harvest the semen from his dead body that causes me pause, I just hope she wasn't selfish and decided to donate some of his other viable organs to needy recipients. But they already have kids together I don't see it as that applauding.
4I don't see a real problem with it. If the couple truly wanted to have children together, and the sperm was still viable, it's not that far away (in my opinion) from using sperm donated by the husband before his death,or using sperm from total strangers at a sperm bank. I don't see the big deal.
5Grief is a very strange process.
6having had my father die at a young age, never knowing him, I find this selfish on the mothers part and sad for that child.
7There's a stranger story - a woman harvested her dead SON'S sperm [he was 21], after he was killed breaking up a bar fight at college. She had to go through some legal channels, but she eventually got it and is storing it until she can find a surrogate to carry her son's child. She says that her son told her he eventually wanted to have kids, so it was "the least she could do".
I don't know, but I find that a lot weirder than spouses attempting to harvest sperm.
8Yeah, not to minimize the tragedy these people went through — but "harvest" and "sperm" are two words that sound creepy together.
9I don't think there is anything really "wrong" about it. I'm sure if the boyfriend had the choice he would want to fulfill their plans of another baby even if he couldn't be there to see that child grow up.
10Yeah, I don't think there's really anything wrong with it, but I can't help thinking what legal consequences this may have in the future. And yes, that story about the Mom having her son's sperm harvested is much stranger IMO
11Mom harvesting her son's sperm? Way weirder.
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