Dead cadet’s parents can use his sperm for reproduction

WEST POINT, N.Y. — The parents of a 21-year-old West Point cadet fatally injured in a skiing accident can use his frozen sperm to produce a child, a judge ruled while noting potential ethical considerations.

Supreme Court Justice John Colangelo’s ruling, dated Thursday, gives Peter Zhu’s parents the ability to attempt conception with a surrogate mother using their late son’s sperm. The judge said Zhu’s parents have not decided whether they will try to use it.

“At this time, the court will place no restrictions on the use to which Peter’s parents may ultimately put their son’s sperm, including its potential use for procreative purposes,” Colangelo wrote.

Zhu, of Concord, California, died after a Zhu skiing accident in February at West Point. His parents received court permission to have his sperm retrieved and frozen, but the judge waited until last week to rule on whether they could attempt reproduction. The sperm is preserved at a sperm bank.

Colangelo said he found no restrictions in state or federal law. He noted that few courts have addressed the issue of posthumous reproduction, but those that have addressed it used the decedent’s intent as a deciding factor. He cited a 2008 case in which a court ordered destruction of a man’s sperm according to his written request, despite his widow’s claim to the sperm as her property.

Zhu left no written intention regarding the use of his genetic material for procreation, Colangelo said. But he said Zhu’s parents testified regarding conversations in which he talked of his dream of having several children and the responsibility he felt to carry on his cultural and family legacy.

Monica Minzhi Yao, Zhu’s mother, said Monday that the family wants privacy and will not comment on the case.

“Our pain is something that no words can describe,” she said.

While Colangelo left the decision up to Zhu’s family, he noted they may face other obstacles, including reluctance of some doctors to assist for ethical reasons.