Frozen Sperm Children Get Social Security Death Benefit

FoxNews ^ | 06/10/2004 | FoxNews

[Positive]

Lauren and Warren Woodward had been married for less than four years when they learned that Warren had leukemia in January 1993. See Woodward v. Commissioner of Social Security, 760 N.E.2d 257, 260 (Mass. 2002).

Childless at the time, the couple decided to clinically preserve Warren's sperm because of the possibility that the leukemia treatment could render him sterile. Warren did not survive the treatment and died in October 1993.

Approximately two years after Warren's death, Lauren gave birth to twin girls -- conceived through artificial insemination using Warren's preserved semen.

Several months later, Ms. Woodward applied for Social Security survivor's benefits for her two children. The application was denied.

Today a Federal Appeals ruled that the children are entitled.

[Positive]

Sounds like a good insurance policy to me. How much does it cost to store the stuff anyway?

[bannie]

My head--she is spinning.

One way to "hit the support lottery."

Governmental parenting.

[Gator113]

Just be sure to mark the ice tray, as to not get it confused with the cocktail ice!

[al baby]

[Archangelsk]

Ah, this is a dilemma. Let's "starve the beast", but at the same time give a hand out to the starvin' wimmen and chillun.

President Reagan would not approve of this welfare queen either.

[Bikers4Bush]

She conceived after the death of the father. How on earth are children conceived following death into a known situtation entitled to death benefits? This is insane.

[al baby]

well you got the cock part right

[tophat9000]

Frozen Pop Stipend

[rintense]

It is expensive. I read a story about a woman who has severe endometriosis and decided to store her eggs. I think it was $15,000 a year, or something like that.

[TheBattman]

Even better - if the woman could afford the insemination, why would she need the SS benefits?

Oh -wait - liberals don't feel we should show a need to collect cash from the government....duh.

[Bikers4Bush]

Excellent point.

[Wolfie]

Just be sure to mark the ice tray, as to not get it confused with the cocktail ice!

No more Kaluha & Cream for me.

[Robert Lomax]

Why should this be a surprise? We pay social security benefits to aliens (probably some illegal ones too) who have never contributed anything into social security.

[Jaded]

Good point but many states require insurance to cover it. I know several people in Texas who's infertility treatments are covered. Covered in a limited way, that is a specific number of treatments. This in a twisted way can be categorized as 'infertility'.

I have a problem with this because the little woman knew there would NEVER be a father around. She chose to be a single parent. It's not like she was pregnant and he died in a car accident. That'd be different, IMO. That's just me.

[taxcontrol]

At the heart of this discussion is paternal relationship. Who is the father under English common law is determined by who the "father figure" at the time of the child's birth. However, with new genetic tests and other modern medicine, there is a more absolute determination of who is the father.

However this creates a problem as you have two conflicting measures of the same test. It raises several questions.

Can legally, a child have more than one father? (one biological and one paternal)

If the child can only have one biological father, what happens when the paternal father divorces and finds out he is not the biological father? Does he still have to pay child support if he is in fact not the father?

If the biological father is dead, is the child entitled to survivor benefits? Even if the conception took place after the death of the biological father? (this case)

Lots of interesting legal questions could be raised by the contrast of common law vs science.

[Positive]

" I think it was $15,000 a year, or something like that."

That sounds like a lot of money, but...

I was just thinking, as a man who has paid child support for 23 odd years for various and sundry children (all of whom I love dearly), this gives me an idea. If a man were smart he could make a number of "posteritical donations" then have a vasectomy. Then and only then would the big head be forced to think before the little head.