Never Try to Stare Down a Grieving Widow: Posthumous Use of Gametes and Embryos in Australia

Never Try to Stare Down a Grieving Widow: Posthumous Use of Gametes and Embryos in Australia

Posthumous use falls into one of two categories –

  • Retrieval
  • Use

A dear American colleague2 has suggested that surrogacy lawyers have one of three roles:

  • An architect- who plans the whole journey.
  • A pilot- when the intended parents know where they want to go- and want to get there fast.
  • A cleaner- cleaning up other people’s messes.

These comments are apt about the role of a lawyer in posthumous cases, too. If it appears that death is on the horizon, engaging a lawyer early can make the posthumous use process for the grieving widow3 quicker, simpler and cheaper.

Conversely, trying to retrieve sperm posthumously can lead to difficulties, which a lawyer is sought to clean up in the most trying of circumstances.

I am going to be discussing posthumous use in Australia – a country of 27 million, but with eight systems of law on this point.

Read the Paper here.

2Richard Vaughn.

3I say widow. While posthumous retrieval from women occurs, it is rare. Posthumous retrieval from men is much more common.

Things to Read, Watch & Listen

When Not If the Intended Parents Become Parents

The road to parenthood through surrogacy may not always be smooth, but with the right approach, it’s not a matter of if, but when you’ll welcome your child.

Surrogates & Donors are Extraordinary People

Surrogates and donors make parenthood possible for so many who can’t conceive on their own—whether it’s heterosexual couples, LGBTQ+ parents, single parents, or those with medical conditions. Their generosity is nothing short of life-changing.

Anonymity is Dead in Surrogacy: The Rise of Technology and Its Impact on Donor Privacy

In this video, Stephen dives into one of the 10 lessons he’s learned since his first surrogacy case in 1988: the death of anonymity in surrogacy and donor conception.

Family Law Section Law Council of Australia Award
Member of Queensland law society
Family law Practitioners Association
International Academy of Family Lawyers - IAFL
Mediator Standards Board