A WOMAN grieving the loss of her recently deceased cancer-stricken husband was astounded when she received an unusual request from his parents – that she transferred ownership of his SPERM.
Initially believing that he could recover from his illness, the couple had taken the precaution of freezing sperm samples.
That way, even after fertility-destroying chemotherapy, they would still stand a chance of starting a family together – but to her regret, it was not to be, as the treatment was unsuccessful and he passed away.
When his wife received a frantic phone call from his parents within a mere couple of weeks of his death, she imagined they might be planning to share memories of their mutual beloved, or even to offer her bereavement support.
The last thing she was expecting was an inquisition over what she intended to do with his sperm.
“His parents asked me if I was considering being inseminated with [it], and I said no,” she revealed in a post on Reddit.
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“Then they asked me if I could transfer ownership of the sperm to them, so they could use it to have grandchildren. I assume they’re planning on hiring a surrogate for this, but I’ll admit I was so surprised and confused I didn’t actually ask.”
Branding her in-laws “exploitative”, she continued, “His objective when freezing his sperm was to raise a family with his wife, not because he wanted to…. have his DNA live on in someone else.”
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The enraged couple, hoping to raise the resulting baby despite the fact that they would be in their 80s by the time it grew up, were infuriated when she said no.
“They’re grieving, and I’m denying them the chance to have grandchildren,” she explained, “[but] it feels like they just want their bloodline to continue without any thought to the practicality of it.”
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Readers speculated on whether she might be sued for refusing to hand their son’s genetic material over against her will, while others expressed their shock and sympathy.
“Your husband has been gone for less than two weeks, and they’re circling like vultures,” one responded. “There’s just no excuse.”
Another suggested she have the sperm destroyed “immediately”, leaving the sprog-obsessed in-laws with “nothing to fight over”.
A third said of the hypothetical child: “Being born in those circumstances is virtually guaranteeing this kid will need therapy.”
However another spared a thought for the grieving parents, weighing in: “Try to see this request as the desperate plea it really is… grief makes people do some terrible and crazy things.”
For more real-life tricky situations, check out this woman’s experience with a nosy neighbour who asked her not to paint her house.
Plus this mum reveals how her ex-boyfriend became her mid-wife.
Meanwhile someone who expected never to be a mum tells of how she now has 10 kids under 14.