A grieving woman claims that following the death of her husband her in-laws want his sperm so they can have grandchildren.
The unnamed widow took to Reddit, asking for some perspective on a situation she claimed to be in that involves her late husband’s sperm.
The woman says her husband recently passed away due to cancer and has shared the uncomfortable position she’s found herself in with his parents.
In the shocking post, she explains that before his passing, her husband had frozen some of his sperm in hopes the couple could have children after the completion of his chemotherapy.
That way, even after fertility-destroying chemotherapy, they would still stand a chance of starting a family together, but sadly, the treatment was unsuccessful and he passed away.
In her thread, the unnamed woman said: “Am I the a****le for not wanting to give my late husband’s sperm to his parents? I’m sorry, I really tried to think of a less silly title.”
She continued: “His parents were very involved in his treatment and were aware that we were doing this… His treatment was unfortunately unsuccessful, and he passed away on July 19th.”
She said that she received a phone call from her in-laws within a couple of weeks after his death and didn’t expect that it was a question over what she planned to do with his sperm.
The woman shared: “His parents asked me if I was considering being inseminated with his sperm, and I said no. Then they asked me if I could transfer ownership of the sperm to them, so they could use it to have grandchildren.”
“I assume they’re planning on hiring a surrogate for this, but I’ll admit I was so surprised and confused I didn’t actually ask,” she added.
The woman declares that her gut reaction to their proposal was that it was “wrong” and “exploitative”, so she said no. She also said that she believes her late husband would not have wanted this.
She adds: “We froze his sperm because we wanted to raise a family together and freezing his sperm seemed like a better option than adopting or using a sperm donor, not because he wanted to give his parents grandkids or just put his DNA out into the world for the sake of it.”
The couple got angered by her decision, but she explained: “I’m also confused about who they expect to raise this child or children, as they’re both in their 60s. The surrogate? One of their nieces or nephews?”
“My husband had no siblings, and I certainly wouldn’t feel comfortable doing it. It feels like they just want their bloodline to continue without any thought to the practicality of it.”
Her post gained a lot of attention on the site, with over 1,600 people responding to it. Several individuals rushed to share their views about the issue.
One viewer said: “First, I’m so sorry you lost your husband. Second, I’m sorry these people are your in-laws.”
A second commented, “Your husband has been gone for less than two weeks, and they’re circling like vultures, there’s just no excuse.”
“They are grieving, too, but there’s just no excuse,” a third added.
A fourth one advised: “Tell them that everything you’ve read suggests that it’s important not to make any major decisions for a year after a spouse’s death. Tell them you appreciate them telling you what they’re thinking, but you’re going to table that and all other major decisions until a year has passed. Please don’t ask again.”
A fifth pointed out: “He married you! He entrusted your decision-making skills, I’d rather never have children than to die than have children grow up in this world without me. Do what your heart tells you to do.”
Someone also suggested the woman destroy her husband’s sperm because “if there’s no sperm, there’s nothing to fight over.”
Another Reddit user added: “To be fair, they are also grieving. This could be some outlandish thing in their minds right now, but once they process their grief, they may not feel the same way.”