Maria Racman
Abstract
The debate about posthumous reproduction has stopped at the level of the principle of reproductive autonomy – which is understood as an instrument to ban sperm harvesting from a recent deceased male – and at the requirement of explicit consent, despite the rate of sudden deaths caused by accidents. In this paper I will evaluate both standards in order to prepare a paradigm shift in defense of posthumous conception. My aim is to underline the importance of developing clear guidelines to address the legal and philosophical tensions of switching from an opt-in to an opt-out system in order to protect the reproductive autonomy of the persons who did not had the chance to express their desire to reproduce after death, the status of a posthumously conceived child, the possibility of inheritance and also the possible burden of being born in a single-parent household.