Soldiers promised life after death in Ukraine

Ukraine’s President Zelensky has signed a law guaranteeing military personnel the right to posthumous parenthood. The biological material of fallen soldiers – sperm or eggs – will be stored free of charge for three years after their death, and then it can be preserved at the expense of another person indicated in the deceased’s will. If a dead person’s reproductive cells are used to conceive a child, that person will be recognised as the child’s parent. Servicemen’s right to biological parenthood was approved last year as part of a state cryo-preservation programme, but a later amendment ruled that frozen sperm of dead servicemen had to be disposed of within three months, an unreasonable deadline for widows awaiting IVF. After public debate, this rule has been changed.