The Verkhovna Rada adopted a new procedure that will allow men and women, even non-military personnel, to become parents after death. According to the innovation, the partners of the deceased will be able to use their frozen reproductive cells to give birth to a child who will be recognized as native with the full range of rights provided by law.
Deputies adopted two documents for this purpose: one main document as a whole and another auxiliary document in the first reading. Approval of both documents and the President's signature are required to begin this process. But the problem of the possible destruction of the sperm of fallen soldiers has already been resolved by the adoption of the main document as a whole.
This move was made after a high-profile scandal at the end of January, when it became known that the Council blocked the possibility of posthumous paternity and even provided for the forced disposal of frozen biological material of the military after their death.
These new changes were announced by Mykhailo Radutskyi, the head of the parliamentary committee on the health of the nation, who was the author of the scandalous amendments to the previous version of the law and promised to correct the situation.
According to Radutsky's speech, the Verkhovna Rada adopted draft law No. 10448 as a whole, which contains key innovations.
In the previous version of the law, after the death of a soldier, the storage of reproductive cells ceased, and they had to be disposed of. However, in the new version, in the event of the death of a military (or military) or declared dead, reproductive cells are stored at the expense of the state for three years.
After this period, they can also remain preserved, but already at the expense of the person who was indicated by the deceased as the administrator of his biological material during his lifetime.
The revolutionary nature of this legislative act lies in the fact that, for the first time in Ukraine, it is possible for a citizen to dispose of his reproductive cells in the event of his death, being declared dead by a court or missing.
This opportunity applies to any citizen, not only to military personnel.
In the case of the birth of a child in accordance with a citizen's pre-mortem order and thanks to reproductive technologies, the deceased "is recognized as the father or mother of the child born in this way."
Within three months of the implementation of the law, the government must adopt additional regulations to settle all the legal details.
At the same time, the law recognizes as valid wills and other notarized wills of citizens regarding their biological material, which were concluded before the adoption of this law.
Lawyer Olena Babych praised the new document, the post of which started the whole scandal in social networks regarding the previous law.
"I can't believe my eyes! This law is intended to implement what we and the reproductive community have talked about and tried to do for many years — to legally regulate the use of reproductive cells after the death of a person and not only military personnel," she wrote on Facebook.
In addition, in the first reading, the Council adopted another bill No. 10450 on amendments to the Civil Code.
Radutskyi explained that this law is necessary to "recognize paternity and extend benefits to such children."
"We add that the guardian in case of death can dispose of the reproductive cells by writing an appropriate order, as well as apply assisted reproductive technologies. This natural person is recognized as the father or mother of a child born in this way," the deputy explains.
At the end of January, it became known that an amendment was made to the November law on the right to free storage of reproductive cells of military personnel, according to which, in the event of the death of military personnel, their biological material was to be disposed of.
This happened at a time when Ukrainian legislation had no solution at all to the issue of posthumous paternity.
In fact, there was no mechanism for citizens, even with a will, to dispose of their biological material - sperm, eggs or embryos - thus allowing their partners to have children in the event of the death of one of them.
Solving this issue became especially urgent in the conditions of the war with Russia, when thousands of men and women risk their lives and health at the front every day.
When the scandal surrounding the previous version of the law gained momentum, many deputies claimed that the amendment on the disposal of biological material was introduced at the last stage, and this decision was not approved by the specialized committee.
Even the author of the scandalous amendment, Radutsky, rejected it.
He stated that the idea of disposing of biomaterial of the military is "wrong and unfair to our heroes and their memory", and promised to correct the situation before the previous version of the law comes into force.
