Brave New World: Should a Dead Man Become a Father?
Nikolas Evans was a 21-year-old college student when he was attacked outside an Austin bar and fell to the ground, hitting his head. He died ten days later. He had no wife, no children, and no fiancé.
Should he now become a father?
In a case that has raised as many eyebrows as ethical questions, Nikolas Evans’s mother went to court and obtained a judge’s order allowing her dead son’s sperm to be collected so that she could have a surrogate produce a grandchild for her.
“I just thought about how much I loved my son and how much I loved raising him, and how sad I was that he wasn’t going to be here anymore,” Marissa Evans said. “And if I could find a way to have a grandbaby to raise, that it might make my heart heal a little.”
Ms. Evans—who also has a 22-year-old son—said Nikolas often spoke of having three boys, and had even chosen names for them: Hunter, Tod, and Van. “As the mother of a son I knew so well,” she said, “I feel he would have wanted me to do this.”
While Nikolas Evans may have told his mother he wanted children someday, a philosophy professor said, it’s wrong to assume he also would have wanted to father a child posthumously if he died prematurely. “This is a tough way for a kid to come into the world,” said a university ethicist. “As the details emerge and the child learns more about their origins, I just wonder what the impact will be on a ‘replacement child.’”
Though legal experts and medical ethicists say the case may be precedent-setting, for many it remains unsettling. “Imagine a close relative strip-mining your body for the material to create children you never consented to have,” said a Texas newspaper editorial. “Privacy rights end when you die, of course, but to have one’s next of kin making such a profound, and profoundly intimate, choice for one after death will strike many people as a gross violation of personal sovereignty.”
Tell us what you think: Is pursuing a grandchild in this manner responsible? Should there be laws to govern the use of a deceased son’s sperm? If so, what should the legal boundaries be?
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Adopt
Why can’t she just adopt a child. There are millions of children looking for homes!
Mildred Samba | 7 months, 2 weeks ago
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kpnnc
I don’t believe that this woman should be alllowed to save her son’s sperm. What’s done is done it’s not like he was her only child besides God knows what’s best in the end. I’m sorry for her loss but she has another child that can give her grandchilren.
Kevin Pittman | 7 months, 2 weeks ago
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father, grandfather, uncle and forster grampa, unc
It is my feeling that GOD’s plan for this young man was to carry on elsewhere. If GOD didn’t bless the mother, of the unfortunate, with a grandchild that she shouldn’t pursue the matter. GOD will provide her with another means to be a grandparent. Contact “Foster Grandparents”, be the neighborhood gramma or even help at an orphanage, boys and girls club, or even at the elementary school. Just because the child isn’t your blood doesn’t mean that you can’t be a grandparent to someone in need. I have many freinds with kids that call me “uncle Bill” and their children that call me grandpa. I know that it isn’t the same, but if GOD wanted it, GOD would have provided it.
I am sorry for loss and my prayers are with you
william arndt | 7 months, 2 weeks ago
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depends
It depends on various factors. Laws don’t prohbit it, the new born would never have a father – there are social implications. Moral implications are touchy and there are basically 2 opinions – yes why not & no never .
What is best for the new born is what needs to be done. Humanity survives on our genes multiplying – using science to do that, is…..well intellegent.
rs | 7 months, 1 week ago
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Reproduction is the PARENTS right, not a grandpare
Find this difficult to swallow. The deceased clearly had no intention of having a child. As the biological father, the right to reproduce is his alone.
Taking sperm without consent is theft, regardless of the motivation.
While change is a difficult thing, all lives come to an end. This mother must accept her son’s death instead of trying to find a way for him to live forever. Nothing lasts forever.
kv | 7 months, 1 week ago
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God's Means
There are so many folks here bringing their opinions of God’s will into this. What I do not understand is why scientific advancement making this a possibility for the bereaved mother is not considered to be a part of God’s will. Who among the posters here has God consulted directly with on this? For all those who believe that if it was God’s will for her to have a grandchild through this son then it would have happened, you would have to also believe the same for a couple who could not have children. To be congruent, the thinking would have to be something like this: “Oh well, if it was God’s will then it would have happened. It didn’t happen, so don’t go trying to do anything about it. Couples with fertility problems should not look to science for help because God didn’t will for them to have children.” Or did He/She/It? Perhaps God is allowing humans to understand science for the purpose of (GASP!) USING it!
I don’t have my own fully formed opinion on whether or not it is healthiest for all involved because, face it, how could I? I know as much (or as little) as everyone else here does on this family’s situation. But, People! Don’t be afraid of expanding your minds just a little. The world is a really cool place outside the box. Come join me.
SDD
Sheryl | 7 months, 1 week ago
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Mrs.
Wow – God gave us free will but our choices should be based in faith and not for our own reasons.What a burden to place on the child -The reason you were concived is that I lost my Son your father and I wanted to have my son and/or his future children in my life so I made you. That is a tall order to fill for anyone, even if it was thought to be done out of love, maybe loss, or maybe it was a tad selfish not to give up the future because the present had changed. I am sure this woman loves her grandchild and takes great care of him/her but what a thing to ponder throughout your life as a child or an adult — why? To keep her son alive, to be what could have been or as an replacement ? Again wow —- I know as we advance in science that more and more things will be possible but some things we should really leave alone. I just feel that a tremedous burden will be carried by this child whether intended or not. Sometimes good intentions can have devestating results. I wish this family the best and God Bless each one they have suffered a terrible loss. I hope the child grows filled with faith and understanding that all children are a blessing – a gift from God. NO matter what, when, where or why.
Tena | 7 months ago
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Sadly, No
No one can ever feel a mother’s pain at the loss of a child. And, although
loving and apparently close, I think when the son said he wanted 3 children,
he intended to grow with them and care for them.
I wish I knew the answers but I do not
carolyn dee king | 6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Mrs.
Why not let this lady do what she will without our judgment. Each heart has its own special needs; let her be satisfied to have a grandchild she can love and cherish.
Linda | 6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Portugal
Excellent site, keep up the good work
Bill Bartmann | 6 months, 2 weeks ago
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