Page 89 - EFI-RAV ZILBERSTIN_VOL 8.EFI-RAV ZILBERSTIN_VOL 8.1A

Pg: 89 - 3-Front 21-10-31

status?! However, as I have heard from Dr. M.A. Brooks, sperm cells
inside the testicles – no matter at what stage of their development
– are unable to fertilize an ovum without the addition of secretions
from the prostate gland and the seminal vesicles. It is therefore logical
that since Reuven’s sperm cells are incapable of fertilization without
the addition of Shimon’s secretions the child is considered Shimon’s.
This is similar to a branch bearing fruits that have not yet reached one
third of their growth, which become annulled to the body of the old
tree and are not subject to the laws of orlah.

I considered what the halachah would be if sperm was extracted
from a man immediately after he died and used to inseminate a wom-
an. Would the sperm be considered the father’s according to those
poskim who rule that a child’s lineage follows that of the source of
the sperm? [I heard from a physician that when a man dies from a
broken neck, there is usually an emission of semen and it may be fit
for insemination3.]

It seems possible that even according to those poskim who rule
that in case of “bathtub insemination” the child’s lineage follows that
of the owner of the semen,4 this will only apply to semen emitted by
a living person but not to semen obtained from a dead man, which
is akin to extracting sperm from a piece of meat therefore the child
would not follow the lineage of the deceased. If this is correct, the
child will certainly not follow the lineage of the original owner of the
testicles since they were extracted from a dead body. However, my
father-in-law, Rav Y.S. Elyashiv, zt”l, did not agree with me.

We have already written elsewhere5 that it is forbidden to inject
sperm from a Jewish man into the womb of a married Jewish woman,
lest the child end up marrying his [paternal] sister. Some poskim rule

3. See earlier, siman 254, on the topic of artificial insemination after the husband’s
death, with semen that was taken from him while he was alive – here we are
discussing semen obtained from a man after his death.

4. See earlier, siman 250, where we cite a difference of opinion among the poskim as
to whether the child is considered the offspring of the owner of the semen.

5. Earlier, in siman 250.

Transplanted Ovaries or Testicles 2 73