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8 Okla. J.L. & Tech. 1 (2012)

handle is hein.journals/okjolt8 and id is 1 raw text is: 8 OKLA. J.L. & Tech. 61 (2012) www.okjolt.org A FRAMEWORK FOR UNTANGLING INTENTS IN POSTHUMOUS SPERM EXTRACTION C 2012 Lark Zink I. Introduction Posthumous reproduction involves the conception and birth of a child by the means of artificial reproductive technology, after the death of either parent. Through technological innovation, death is no longer a bar to the creation of new life. By means of technologies that separate reproduction from the coital act, a widow may assert a claim to the sperm of her deceased husband in order to bear his genetically-related child.' A woman may petition the probate court to enforce the will of her late boyfriend, entitling her to dispositional control over his cryogenically preserved sperm.2 A mother may carry on the memory of her murdered son by creating her biological grandchild through the use of posthumously extracted sperm and a gestational surrogate.3 While medical practice and technological advances have yielded a wide range of reproductive possibilities, the law has lagged behind in its recognition and legal characterization of such acts. In this new legal forefront, courts have generally responded to the prospect of posthumous reproduction in one of two ways: 1) by effectuating the intent of the donor, or 2) employing a constitutional balancing of rights test. 1 In re Estate of Kievernagel, 83 Cal. Rptr. 3d 311, 312 (Ct. App. 2008). 2 Hecht v. Superior Court, 20 Cal. Rptr. 2d 275, 279 (Ct. App. 1993). 3 Susan James, Sperm Retrieval: Mother Creates Life after Death, ABC NEWS, (Feb. 23, 2010), http://abcnews.go.com/Healthl/Wellness/mother-murdered-son-hopes-create-grandchild-post- mortem/story?id=9913939#.TvFUFlauFpk. 1

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