A precedent-setting High Court decision has allowed the removal of sperm from a dead man so his partner can have his baby.
A woman, identified only as "Long" in the report, had made an urgent application to the High Court to extract the sperm from her partner of 20 years, known as "Lee", to undergo fertility treatment.
At the time of Lee's death, Long was pregnant with their first child. They had told close family and friends that they wanted to have another baby to give their first born a sibling.
At present there are no statutory or regulatory provisions that deal explicitly with the ability for a person in Long's position collect and use sperm from a dead partner.
Sperm needs to be taken within 48 hours from a body. Recognising the small window of opportunity the court granted an interim order allowing the sperm to be taken and stored pending a substantive hearing.