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certainly not a mamzer, even if the sperm was fertilized after she had
married another man. Thus argues the Seridei Eish.
In my humble opinion, this proof brought by the Seridei Aish can
be pushed off because semen that is already in her uterus is consid-
ered part of her body and cannot lead to mamzerus. This resembles
the answer that the Acharonim give to the question posed by the
Chavas Daas. He asks (69:3) how it can be permitted to eat a raw
meat steak, without salting, because all the blood is still in place [and
only becomes forbidden when it is expelled from the meat or dis-
placed within the cut], when biting into the steak with one’s teeth
causes the blood to move from place to place, and the person eating
the steak will be guilty of eating displaced blood which came out?
The Acharonim answer that there is no prohibition on blood which
exudes within the mouth because such blood is considered part of the
body. We can apply the same logic here – that semen that has already
entered her uterus is part of her body – so there is no proof that it is
permitted to place sperm from another man into her.
ɳ Response to Question Two
Until now we have been discussing the case of a woman who has al-
ready been inseminated with donor sperm. Most poskim rule that she
is not forbidden to her husband and that the child is kosher, though
there are opinions that she is forbidden to her husband and that the
child is a mamzer. All are unanimous however, that insemination
with donor sperm is forbidden, for the following reasons:
1. Because of the need for “distinction” lest the child marry
his paternal sister, since it is not known who his father is.
This is the reason given by Rabbenu Peretz for it being
forbidden for a woman to lie on sheets where another man
slept [lest she become pregnant from his sperm].
2. An additional concern is that such a child may lead his
mother to remarry without chalitzah, since she will be
40 1 Medical-Halachic Responsa of Rav Zilberstein
