Posthumous Use of Sperm: Legal and Bioethical Reflections on Israeli Policy

Bassan's article on the posthumous use of sperm presents a complicated picture of Israeli law.¹ On the one hand, as previous reviews show,² Israel is unique in terms of the extent of this phenomenon. The number of applications to the courts to approve the use of sperm posthumously is substantial and has been increasing since the outbreak of the war on October 7. On the other hand, there is no clear legal policy in this area. In other words, Bassan's article shows that the rights of relevant parties in this context are not adequately regulated. This, as elaborated below, is the result of a lack of primary legislation, together with disagreement among relevant policymakers. The outcome is feelings of frustration, confusion, and even anger among the deceased's close relatives.³.