Posthumous reproduction: Life after death?

Abstract

This paper reviews the issue of posthumous reproduction at the international and domestic levels. The overview covers the legal systems of the United Kingdom, as a country that allows posthumous reproduction, and France, as a country that prohibits posthumous reproduction. Subsequently, Serbian legal provisions, which forbid posthumous reproduction, are analyzed. The provisions are analyzed through the lens of the recent private initiative submitted to Serbian national authorities. Although infertility is a great obstacle in life, the proposed amendments present are one-sided as they mainly focus on fulfilling the individual's wish to become a parent, rather than on creating a legal framework. As a result, and bearing in mind that no consensus has been reached regarding the issue of permissibility of posthumous reproduction, the author determines that Serbian legislator is not at fault-at least for the time being.

Predmet rada je analiza posthumne oplodnje na međunarodnom i nacionalnom nivou. Autorka analizira pravni sistem Velike Britanije, kao države koja ima permisivni stav prema posthumnoj oplodnji, a potom i pravni sistem Francuske, kao države sa negativnim stavom prema posthumnoj oplodnji. Analizi su podvrgnute i zakonske norme srpskog prava koje zabranjuju posthumnu oplodnju. Zakonske norme sagledane su iz perspektive jedne privatne inicijative koja je upućena nadležnim državnim organima Srbije. Iako autorka razume da neplodnost predstavlja veliku prepreku u životu svakog čoveka, zaključuje da su predložene izmene jednostrane jer se njima zanemaruje činjenica da one treba da budu deo pravnog okvira sa kojim ujedno moraju biti usklađene. Upravo zato, a kako među državama nema konsenzusa o dozvoljenosti posthumne oplodnje, autorka ističe da srpski zakonodavac, u ovom trenutku, ne čini povredu prava pojedinaca propisujući zabranu posthumne oplodnje.