死後人工生殖子女之法律地位――以日本最高法院平成十八年九月四日判決為例

The Legal Status of Children Born from Artificial Reproduction after Their Fathers’ Deaths: An Analysis from a Sep.4, 2006 Verdict of the Supreme Court of Japan

於夫死亡後所實施之人工生殖，乃係改變自然之行為，此應不因人之意思而被實現。一出生不久，生父即因事故死亡，該子女因無法得到生父之照顧，對子女而言，實屬不幸，但此種情形，非可得預期。若於精子提供者死亡後，本於死者或其雙親傳宗接代、延續香火之要求，而藉由人工生殖之方法生下無父之子女，對子女而言，並無任何實益可言，只是徒增其無生父之不幸，明知不幸，卻故意為之，此種行為，實屬可議。雖然醫學技術可以實現，但人之慾望卻不可無限上綱，此種不符合子女利益之死後人工生殖，不應予以正當化。

The artificial reproduction after one’s husband’s death is a nature-changing behavior and should not be executed out of human beings’ will. It is miserable but unexpected for these children due to lack of care by their own fathers. If children are, out of the will of the deceased or parents, born from artificial reproduction after their fathers’ death, there will be no benefits for them but only increase their sorrow. Even if medical technology can achieve this goal, human beings’ desire should be limited. Hence, this kind of artificial reproduction that will impair children’s interests should not be legalized.