The High Court has given a woman permission to take a dead man's sperm so she can have his child.
On Thursday the Auckland High Court's precedent-setting decision was made public, which gave permission to the woman known as 'Ms Long' to have sperm collected from her late partner, Mr Lee.
In his judgment, Justice Paul Heath says the couple was in a "stable de facto relationship for some 20 years". Ms Long gave birth to Mr Lee's child shortly after his death, and "always wanted their first child to have at least one sibling", Justice Heath says.
Mr Lee never expressed a desire for his sperm to be used posthumously in the event of his death.
"I have no doubt that Mr Lee and Ms Long, together with their respective extended families, intended to provide a stable and loving environment in which their children could be nurtured," Justice Heath says.
"[However], the absence of evidence of express consent from Mr Lee to posthumous use of his sperm raises some important public considerations."
There are currently no statutory or regulatory provisions for the unusual situation Ms Long finds herself in.
Within 48 hours of Mr Lee's death, an urgent interim order was granted by the court via the Coroner to take sperm from his body. At a hearing on October 30, Ms Long requested that she be allowed to use the sperm in fertility treatment.
The lawfulness of the act of collecting and storing the sperm first had to be confirmed, as did the custody of the sperm itself.
The High Court ruled that Ms Long was entitled to apply to use her late partner's sperm for her fertility treatment, and that the Ethics Committee, established under the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004, would consider whether or not she is authorised to do so.
Newshub.
