General Question

CMaz's avatar

Can his sperm be taken?

Asked by CMaz (26303points) May 22nd, 2009

Figured that would get your attention. Ok, don’t know where this come from sometimes.
My nephew has a disorder that from birth, has left him with no muscle control. DId not think he would not live six months but is now 21.
The jury is out (figure of speech) if he is a Steven Hawking or of little intelligence. He does seem to have a sense of competence from the
way he reacts to his enviorment and the people around him.
NOW: This is a hypothetical question. If his father wanted to have a legacy. (the passing on of the family name)
But in order to do this his father would need to extract sperm from his son. Even if the mother was also ok with the idea. Could it be done?
It is legal and/or ethical?

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28 Answers

Simone_De_Beauvoir's avatar

okay, wait, let me just review here
the father would take his possibly incapacitated son’s sperm to get his wife (son’s mom) pregnant or would this sperm be frozen or put into another person? it COULD be done but if it is done against the son’s consent, that’s not legal or ethical..I know of a family from Russia ( I saw it on TV, mind you ) where a woman’s son died but they knew he was going to and froze his sperm and she got pregnant with it and gave birth to his/her son and the toddler was fine…I remember thinking ‘way to sidestep that genetic mutation landslide but national tv, really?’

wundayatta's avatar

Sure it could be done, assuming his parts were functioning normally. Someone would masturbate him, and that would be that. He might even enjoy it, especially if it’s a good-looking example of the gender he prefers.

Simone_De_Beauvoir's avatar

@daloon I still say he has to okay it

Simone_De_Beauvoir's avatar

also what would be the chance of the offspring getting the same disorder he has? that’s not necessarily a legacy you want to continue, though that is up to the family

CMaz's avatar

No, the sperm would be put into a surrogate mother. His mother? Yuck!

Kayla654321's avatar

I think I saw a story in the news like this. Where the kid died, and they took his sperm from his dead body? The entire family agreed that that was what he would have wanted.

I think it’s legal if you can prove the nephew is okay with it.
I don’t know if it’s really ethical, I mean what are the chances he will pass on the disorder to the kid?

Simone_De_Beauvoir's avatar

@ChazMaz well I was just clearing that up – okay so is there consent on his part?

CMaz's avatar

Yes the concern of a genetic flaw is of concern. But I think he ended up that way due to the mother using drugs and stopping too late. (Let’s not go there) Consent would be another issue. Since there is no way to clearly understand him, since he has no motor control at all.

jbfletcherfan's avatar

Ooohhh, this just sounds…I dunno, but just not a good idea. SO many issues with this.

ragingloli's avatar

if he wants a legacy, why not make another child on his own? (also since the boy is apparently incapable of fending for his own, the parents have full authority anyway, so legality shouldn’t be a question.)

CMaz's avatar

SInce he is 21 and, now collecting Social Security. He does “legally” have rights. I guess the question is to what extent, since he does and will always need to be cared for.

Kayla654321's avatar

He can speak right?
I’m not really clear on what you mean by “having some sense of competence….”

CMaz's avatar

Eye movement, extremely minimal physical reaction.

Simone_De_Beauvoir's avatar

@ChazMaz in my mind, he doesn’t just legally have rights but in general and shouln’t be used a sperm bank

justwannaknow's avatar

It can be done. Legally????? ethically…............ Why didn’t the father just try for another son to carry on the family name?

bezdomnaya's avatar

So, let me get this straight: A pair of parents who did drugs to the point of permanently and severely f*cking up their own son would like to carry on their legacy? Yeah, I hope a court of law denies that claim, that’s one legacy that does not need to be continued.

hug_of_war's avatar

I don’t know about legally, but ethically I can’t see how it is. He has no say in the matter. It pretty much requires sexual assault

justwannaknow's avatar

Is his disorder genetic ? What are the chances his child would be the same? I’m getting scared now.

ragingloli's avatar

@hug_of_war he doesn’t need to be fapped, you can extract the stuff with a needle.

jbfletcherfan's avatar

@justwannaknow See, your comment here is just one of the reasons I think this is a baaaad idea.

Buttonstc's avatar

Just because something CAN be done, does not necessarily mean that it SHOULD be done.

I’m with bezdomnaya on this one. This is one legacy that needs to die a natural death instead of contorted manipulations to preserve it.

Some people just shouldn’t be allowed to reproduce….period

PandoraBoxx's avatar

If he is 21, and has not been adjudicated incompetent in a mental inquest hearing, then no, he cannot have his sperm taken against his will. Has he been declared mentally incompetent? Just because someone is physically incapacitated, it doesn’t mean he’s mentally incapacitated as well.

Likeradar's avatar

@bezdomnaya This is an interesting thread… Did I miss the part where the parents did something to cause their child’s disability, or are you making ignorant statements for fun?

skfinkel's avatar

He doesn’t sound like Steven Hawkings, who began life normally (ie brilliantly) and then got sick.

Dr_C's avatar

a lot of developmental disorders are manifested in a lack of ability to interact or have any form of social adaptation and have no realtion to the person’s intelligence. Many autistic patients are brilliant but have no capacity to form a social bond and interact in a normal way (which is where their disability lies). There are many ways to test for this so i would suggest going to a developmental specialist and determining #1 whether this disorder is realted to higher brain functions or if it is similar to autism and related ailments, and #2 figure out if this is a genetically transmissible condition… if so PLEASE don’t extract his sperm… you’re just going to bring another tortured soul into the world. that would be cruel.

lillycoyote's avatar

Since the young man is 21, I would assume that every test that can be done to determine his medical condition and his level of cognitive functioning already has been done. If not, then he should have been removed from his parents care a long time ago. And whether or not he is Steven Hawkins, whatever his level of functioning is, he is still a human being not some kind of farm animal that his parents can exploit for stud services. If the family wants to continue the bloodline why don’t they use the father’s sperm?

CMaz's avatar

Now that is a good point. True, that pretty much devaluates the whole question. I put this hypothetical question out there because sometimes this stuff just pops into my head. YES,
why go through the hassle when the fathers sperm would work as well. Only thing I could think about would be that, the connection of the “newborn” would be different (a grand child) being the fathers child as appose to the son’s child.
Without trying to complicate the question. As far as the parents being good or bad. I put them on the good side. Hard working smart people. But, 21 years ago they were a bit of partiers. There is no excuse when it comes to children. It was an un expected birth. And they have been diligently by his side since his birth.
Money has never been an object for them so all studies and tests have been done, including talking to Steven Hawking’s people. But, due to the level of his dysfunction. It is really hard to determine. I believe and the evidence shows he has a “healthy” brain. But a life of limited mental stimulation has its down falls. He has gone to school, has a HS diploma. Basically sitting in the back of the room. Not able to do much more. And every communication tool has been used and tried. He has even been taken on trips, the zoo, museum and such.

bezdomnaya's avatar

@Likeradar Yeah, the poster said that here. Although I do like to make ignorant statements for fun.

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