Wife permitted cryopreserve husband’s sperm for APT to have baby
The Kerala High Court has helped a couple unable to have children due to the husband’s serious illness by allowing his sperm to be extracted and frozen for his wife to use in Assisted Reproductive Technology to have a baby.
Justice VG Arun provided temporary relief to the wife based on her petition, even though her husband’s consent was required by the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Regulation Act, due to his deteriorating critical medical condition.
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Wife had requested to collect and freeze her husband’s sperm
In her request, the wife asked for approval to collect and freeze her husband’s sperm.
The woman’s legal representatives informed the judge that obtaining the husband’s written consent was not feasible, and warned that further delays could lead to the worst case scenario.
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After considering the factors mentioned above and being guided by fairness due to the lack of a legal provision, I believe the 1st petitioner (wife) should receive the interim relief she requested.
Therefore, on August 16, the court authorized the 5th respondent (hospital) to collect X’s (husband) sperm and freeze it for future use by the 1st petitioner.
The court clarified that without its permission, no additional procedures can be carried out under the ART Regulation Act except for sperm extraction and preservation.
The issue was scheduled for additional discussion on September 9.
