Mother murdered Israeli hostage fights for grandchild with sperm

Von WOM

Die Geschichte von Iris Haim, die um ihr verstorbenes Kind trauert und mit Hilfe von dessen gesammeltem Samen ein Enkelkind zeugen möchte, wirft ethische und rechtliche Fragen auf. Ein Blick auf Hoffnung inmitten der Trauer.
The story of Iris Haim, who mourns the child who died and wants to testify to a grandchild with the help of his collected seeds, raises ethical and legal questions. A look at hope in the middle of grief. (Symbolbild/DNAT)

"Something can be born from everything - if you want it," said Iris Haim, whose son Yotam was killed as a hostage in the Gaza Strip. These words help her find hope.

The desire for a new beginning

The new beginning that Haim wants is a grandchild that is to be created from the seed that she took from Yotam's body after his return home in December 2023.

"Yes, an accident has happened," said Haim, 59, to CNN about the death of her son, who grew up in the Israeli city of Mevaseret Zion, west of Jerusalem. "But it doesn't control me."

The circumstances of death

Yotam, 28 years old, was kidnapped on October 7, 2023 by militant Hamas leaders from the Kibbutz Kfar Aza. After 65 days in captivity, he was accidentally shot by Israeli troops on December 15, 2023, while he tried to flee Gazas with two other hostages, Alon Shamriz and Samer Talalka.

Yotam is the only Israeli hostage that is known that his seed was taken posthumously, and whose family does lobbying to get a child.

The desire for offspring

Haim says that Yotam, unmarried during his lifetime, always wanted to have children. "Yotam really longed for it - he often talked about it," she said.

So far, a total of 205 hostages have been brought back, 148 of them living and 57 dead, according to the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Most were dead for weeks or months, which made the use of the men's seeds impossible - with the exception of Yotams. Here his mother saw an unexpected way to get her first grandchild.

The legal challenges

The chances of successful sequence are highest in the first 24 hours after death, whereby the deadline is 72 hours, dates .

There are currently 50 Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, of which at least 20 are considered to be alive. Both the Hamas and Israel have

painful memories

Haim remembers the moment with painful clarity when the Israeli authorities came home to her and told her about Yotam's death. "Yotam was killed. By friendly fire. While he fled from the captivity of Hamas. He was wrongly identified as a terrorist," Haim recalled the statements of the officials.

"Four sets that I will never forget," she said to Cnn.

The struggle for approval

Half an hour after the notification of Yotam's death, an official Haim and whispered: "You can apply for a seizure," reported Haim. The process started "immediately, immediately," she said.

yotams seeds was taken within the necessary time frame. Ten samples were extracted, "Enough for five children", Haim recalled the doctor's words who carried out the procedure.

Now Haim is facing a stony path to maintain the approval for the use of his seed to testify to a grandchild. If she is successful, the next challenge would be to find a woman who executes and raises the child.

The legal framework in Israel

In Israel, the removal of seeds from a dead body is allowed, but there is no law that clearly defines the process of using the seed for reproduction.

"There is no law for this intervention in our legal system," said Nily Shaz, Haim's lawyer. She added that family positions only approved the posthumous use of seeds in two cases and that the decision was later canceled after a state appeal. "All other cases were rejected."

a complex topic

The debate about the idea of ​​testifying a child with the seeds of a deceased raises ethical, religious and legal questions that have not yet been addressed by the legislators. "It is time that Parliament passes a law on this topic," said Schatz.

For Haim, the fight for getting a grandchild gives her strength in view of the tragedy that she suffers after October 7, as well as hope for the future.

"Yes, an accident has happened. But what else has happened? There have also been a lot of amazing things. I aim at that," she said.