Knesset advances bill to expand use of sperm from fallen soldiers
MKs give initial backing to proposal that would extend IVF rights to non-married partners and parents of slain troops, after calls from families to change current law
Lawmakers on Wednesday gave initial backing to a proposal to expand the criteria for using sperm from deceased Israelis in artificial insemination.
The bill, which cleared its initial reading 31-7, was inspired by calls from parents of slain troops who are pushing for the existing law to be changed so they can have still have grandchildren through sperm extracted from their late sons.
Currently, posthumous in vitro fertilization (IVF) rights are reserved only for the widows of fallen soldiers in Israel. The proposed change would expand these rights to non-married partners and parents, the former of whom could use the sperm even if the deceased did not give explicit instructions to do so before their deaths.
Parents would be allowed to use the sperm if their sons did not have girlfriends, or if they did but the partners were not interested. The bill states that in such scenarios, the soldier would need to have left written instructions for one of his parents to do so.
The proposal has been supported by the parents of Barel Hadaria Shmueli, a Border Police officer shot dead along the Gaza border in 2021, and Amit Ben-Ygal, who was fatally struck in the head by a brick hurled at him during a military raid in the West Bank a year earlier.
Members of Shmueli’s family were present at Wednesday’s vote, during which Knesset members approved similar bills submitted by both coalition and opposition MKs.
While the bill is backed by lawmakers and bereaved families, some — notably rabbis — have expressed unease over the proposal, saying it appears focused on the aspirations of mourning parents and not soldiers.
The legislation will now go to the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee, where it will be readied for the three plenum readings it must pass to become law.
A similar bill passed an initial reading during the previous Knesset but expired when the new parliament took office in November, requiring it to be legislated again.
AFP contributed to this report.
