The DNA Paternity Test: Legislating the Future Paternity Action
Case Citation
Hecht v. Super. Ct., 16 Cal. App. 4th 836 (CAl. Ct App. 1993)
Background
The fact-specific holding“It was an abuse of discretion to order the destruction of decedent's sperm without first determining the validity of his will and his contract with the sperm bank, both of which contained instructions regarding his vials of sperm.”
Article Publication Date
1992
Volume
7
Issue
1
Citing Quote
We are aware of only one other court which has addressed the issue of the right of a woman to the sperm of a decedent. In 1984, in Parpalaix v. CECOS, the French tribunaux de grande instance ordered CECOS, a government run sperm bank in a Paris suburb, to return stored sperm of a decedent to a doctor chosen by his surviving wife. In light of the discussion in the preceding section pertaining to unmarried women, we find the Parpalaix case instructive and pertinent to the issue before us although it dealt with a married couple. We glean the following facts and decision in the Parpalaix case from a discussion of it in Shapiro and Sonnenblick, supra, 1 Journal of Law and Health at pages 229-233. n7