gives a whole new meaning to organ donation

Court OKs use of dead soldier's sperm
JERUSALEM (Jan 30, 2007) AP

Keivan Cohen will soon have a child with a woman he never met.

The 20-year-old Israeli soldier was killed by a Gaza Strip sniper in 2002. At the request of his parents, doctors harvested Cohen's sperm after his death.

Now, after four years of legal wrangling, a court has ruled the sperm can be injected into a woman selected by the family.

The fight began when the Cohens tried to gain access to the sperm and the hospital refused on grounds that only a spouse could make such a request.

Arguing that their son yearned to raise a family, his parents challenged that decision. On Jan. 15, a Tel Aviv court granted the family's wish.

"On the one hand I'm terribly sad that I don't have my boy; it's a terrible loss," Rachel Cohen said. "But I'm also happy that I succeeded in carrying out my son's will."

Irit Rosenblum, a family rights advocate who represented the Cohen family, said the ruling was significant because it set a precedent for those seeking to continue bloodlines after death.

"I think it is a human revolution," Rosenblum said. "Ten years ago, who would believe that a human being can continue after he has died. I think it is great for humanity." The ruling also ordered the Ministry of Interior to register any children born as a result of the insemination as children of the deceased.