“Life after death”: The Israeli approach to posthumous reproduction

This chapter addresses posthumous assisted reproduction (PAR) in the context of Israeli sociocultural norms and biopolitics. PAR involves the conception and birth of a baby after the death of one of its genetic progenitors. The ability of freezing and storing sperm, eggs, and embryos, without an expiration date for using them to produce healthy babies (Côté et al. 2014), has opened up the possibility of conceiving or transferring an embryo after the death of one or both progenitors. While the loss of a father during pregnancy is a tragedy that has always been possible, the intentional initiation of a parental project after death is a novel possibility that assisted reproductive technologies have enabled. This chapter first presents the Israeli approach to reproduction in general and then zooms in to explore the Israeli approach to PAR. While this approach is undergoing changes over the years, some distinct features emerge when it is being explored against the backdrop of the sociocultural and historical context in which it evolves. This chapter then presents research findings regarding the willingness of soldiers serving in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and parents of combat soldiers to use sperm for PAR. We supplement these findings with an overview of some Jewish halakhic approaches to PAR. We aim to shed light on certain aspects of the Israeli approach by exploring PAR in a context that links reproduction to social attitudes, cultural values, biopolitical ethos, and military service. THE ISRAELI APPROACH TO REPRODUCTION The Israeli approach to reproduction is considered unique and has been amply documented as heavily pro-natalist when compared to other Western countries (Portugese 1998; Kahn 2000; Birenbaum-Carmeli and Carmeli 2010; Donath 2015). The crucial importance of the role parenthood plays is grounded in some key features of Israeli society and has been explored in various empirical studies (Kahn 2000; Remennick 2000; Birenbaum-Carmeli 2004). Israeli culture is imbued with Jewish traditional values that center on the family and on genetic parenthood. From the first imperative in the book of Genesis – “be fruitful and multiply” – to the societal view of childlessness as a tragedy, these prevalent traditional views lead the vast majority of Israelis to perceive parenthood as unquestionable (Kahn 2000). Beyond being perceived as an obvious personal choice, parenthood is linked in the Israeli collective consciousness to a host of national narratives.