An unusual petition for posthumous sperm retrieval? What does it add to the debate?

Posthumous sperm retrieval is still a controversial procedure. The Israel Ministry of Health has recently issued guidelines to regulate the procedure and a recent unusual petition in Israel for posthumous retrieval sheds new and interesting light on the dilemmas involved. This paper examines the petition, both in its own right and by comparing it to the more frequent situation where the surviving partner of a suddenly deceased man petitions for his sperm to be collected for insemination into herself. The analysis considers the best interests of the child to be born, the good of other family members, the wishes of the deceased and the interests of society as a whole.