Hecht v. Superior Court
California Court of Appeal
20 Cal. Rptr. 2d 275 (1993)
William Kane deposited sperm at a sperm bank and died by suicide about a month later; under his agreement with the bank, its disposition was to follow the wishes of the executor of his estate. Kane's will named his longtime girlfriend, Deborah Hecht (defendant), as executor, and left the sperm to her to use to have a child if she wished. Kane's adult children asked the estate administrator (plaintiff) to have the sperm destroyed instead, arguing posthumous conception would violate public policy. The administrator petitioned the court for guidance, and Hecht argued the sperm was legally her property under Kane's will. The trial court sided with Kane's children and ordered the sperm destroyed, and Hecht appealed.
Whether a deceased sperm donor has a sufficient property interest in his sperm, at the time of his death, to direct its disposition through his estate-planning documents, over the objection of his other heirs.