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The Supreme Court in Brisbane has granted a Toowoomba woman the right to use her dead boyfriend’s sperm.

Ayla Cresswell’s partner Joshua Davies died suddenly in August 2016, and within hours the court granted permission for his sperm to be harvested.

Ms Cresswell, 25, sought approval in September 2017 from the court to use the sperm, which is being held at an IVF clinic.

‘Joshua told me that he was very excited at the prospect of being a father and we often talked about having children and the effect it would have on our lives,’ Ms Creswell told a court.

‘It is my honest belief that this is what Joshua would have wanted.’

Justice Sue Brown handed down her landmark decision on Wednesday.

She determined Ayla Cresswell should be able to use Joshua Davies’ reproductive tissue but said it was up to the particular medical clinic to decide if it was satisfied to go ahead with the procedure.

Justice Brown also ruled Ms Cresswell was the only person entitled to use the sperm.

After two years of relentless campaigning, the judge finally decided in her favour.

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  • Im thinking that this is something that males are going to ahve to be very careful of and perhaps start listing in their Wills.

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  • What a can of worms this decision has opened. Do hope all will turn out well, but she will still be an unmarried mother who has to explain why to her child.

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  • This is tricky and I feel for the girlfriend but not sure with the ethics.

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  • She must really want to have his child. I don’t know how he died but why was his sperm harvested after he died? I hope everything works out for her anyway

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  • I think that this is lovely. She will always have a piece of him and what does it hurt now that he is gone? The article says boyfriend – this could mean de facto and it also doesn’t say how long they were together. These days marriage doesn’t really make an awful lot of difference legally.

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  • Wow, I think this has really opened up a can of worms. If the couple were married, maybe. If the sperm was already harvested and in a lab somewhere, maybe. I understand wanting desperately to have a child with the man you love, having been told we would NEVER have children due to low sperm, only to finally give birth to our son after 2.5 years of IVF. However, we were in a committed relationship and had been married for 10 years by the time our son was born. I think this situation now opens itself up to a minefield of requests. It’s a sad story, and this girl has obviously been grieving, but she also has her life ahead of her that may involve another partner and the opportunity to have a child with them. This can obviously still happen, even with a child to her dead partner but… it’s just a tricky situation.

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  • I think it is strange she got the sperm harvested within hours of him dying (suicide so no planning there). Who would think of that?

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  • How sad. I’m glad the court granted her this. Wish her all the best with what life brings her.

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  • Hope it all works out well.

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  • Two years is a long battle. She must really want his baby.

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  • Good luck and wishing her all the best

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  • Good luck to her and their future offspring!

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  • The sperm was taken without the young man’s consent. It would have been different if his sperm had been collected and frozen when he was still alive with the intent of impregnating his partner as has sometimes happened in the case of illness.


    • I tend to agree with you mom160421. Also am a fair bit confused who the harvesting was aloud in the first place?

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  • Good decision. When there is one who has the right on his harvested sperm, she is indeed.

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  • Depends on the full facts of the story! Assuming she’s not completely insane or lying then I see no harm.

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