Ukraine proposes bill to overturn ban on using sperm of dead soldiers

Ukrainian lawmakers on Monday introduced a bill to overturn a ban on the use of sperm and eggs from dead soldiers.

A controversial new law due to take effect in March requires that stored sperm and eggs of soldiers must be destroyed after they die.

But it has sparked a fierce debate in the war-torn country, which is still suffering heavy losses nearly two years after Russia’s invasion.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Olena Kondratyuk said lawmakers would “present an amendment today to eliminate the post-mortem disposal of biological material.

“The wave of public outrage will hopefully convince delegates to vote for it,” said Kondratyuk, a member of the Fatherland Party.

Last week, lawyer Olena Babych sparked widespread debate when she revealed the plight of a woman whose husband had his sperm frozen before being killed at the front.

She said she had to confess to clients that in a few months she would not be able to use sperm.

“How do you explain to a grieving woman… that when her husband died defending his country, our legislators effectively deprived him of his right to be a father after his death?” Babich wrote on Facebook .

A law passed last year allows Ukrainian troops to freeze sperm or eggs for free in case they are injured in combat.

But it also said that if the fighter jets died, they would be destroyed.

The Ministry of Health later issued a statement saying that fertility clinics “will not process frozen biological material from fallen soldiers.”

It added that the ban was “a legislative conflict that will be removed as soon as possible”.

“The Ministry of Health has been working with members of Congress on this,” the statement said.

Kondratyuk said the revised law would allow the use of sperm and eggs not only by widows and widowers, but also by unmarried partners and even parents of fallen soldiers.

Unlike many other European countries, Ukraine allows surrogacy, and before the war it was a popular destination for international couples to take advantage of this.

Since the invasion, the country’s population has declined due to military losses and emigration, with an estimated 6.5 to 7.5 million people emigrating.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)