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Florence Appeals Court Blocks Posthumous Use of Deceased Man’s Frozen Sperm

Judges deemed the man's handwritten authorization void as contrary to public order under Italy’s ban on post‑mortem assisted reproduction.

Overview

  • The Court of Appeal of Florence dismissed the woman’s appeal, confirming the 2021 first‑instance ruling that forbids post‑mortem medically assisted procreation.
  • The court barred delivery of the cryopreserved sample, citing a high risk it would be taken abroad to bypass Italian restrictions.
  • The frozen semen is slated for destruction unless the woman secures a reversal from the Court of Cassation.
  • Judges held that gametes stored for procreation cannot be repurposed for research or as a personal relic without explicit, prior consent from the donor.
  • The man preserved his semen before cancer treatment and authorized his partner in a handwritten will, but Italian law permits assisted reproduction only when both partners are alive.