Posthumous reproduction: Putin wants "heroes of Ukraine" to have children once they are dead

MoscowVladimir Putin’s obsession with reversing the demographic crisis that has plagued Russia for more than ten years has encountered an obstacle of his own making: the war in Ukraine. Tens of thousands of men, many of them young men of reproductive age, have lost their lives on the front lines since 2022. To try to compensate for this bleeding, which adds to the endemic low birth rate, several initiatives have been proposed so that these soldiers can reproduce after death and render a final service to the homeland and their families.

One of the most talked-about proposals has been to create a sperm bank financed with public money for participants in the so-called “especial military operation”. “This will increase demographics and leave a lasting legacy of the deceased”, assured Lyudmila Aivar, from the Moscow Commissioner for Human Rights. Economist Nikolai Antonov specified that “it would be desirable for the quantity of [genetic] material to guarantee at least three heirs”. This project, however, has stalled, sparking complaints from Ekaterina Kolotóvkina, a representative of the Civic Chamber, an advisory body to the government. “We say everywhere that the best are leaving, but we don't allow heroes to leave a legacy. Family names, dynasties, and clans are being cut short. Is this not what the enemy is trying to achieve?”, she recently wrote.

Reproductive law expert Konstantin Svitnev also proposed that the Ministry of Health follow Israel's example. According to him, this country has “extensive experience in collecting post-mortem sperm from soldiers fallen on the battlefield” and, during the so-called “reproductive window”, he explains that viable gametes can be recovered between 48 and 72 hours after death. However, although this practice exists, it is by no means common in the Israeli army.

Genetic material in a legal vacuum

What is becoming increasingly common in Russia is that wives of military personnel want to undergo in vitro fertilization and cannot, either because the husband is dead, because he is missing, or, simply, because he cannot return from the front line. Russian law stipulates that both parents must give written consent at all stages of the process and, in cases of litigation, courts often appeal to the lack of regulation regarding "the use of sperm" for "posthumous reproduction".

The independent media outlet Viorstka reports the case of Valeria, the widow of a Russian soldier, who has been battling with her reproductive health clinic for a year since she received the news that they would dispose of the genetic material he had donated. "My first reaction was hysteria, because this is all I have left: my husband's living cells," she recalls. Her case is in the hands of lawyers because, although her husband had signed all consents, the clinic does not want to budge. Valeria appealed to Putin for help, but received no response.

Others complain that their partner cannot sign any documents because he is missing in action. "This is my last chance to have a child," implored a resident of Samara to Ekaterina Kolotovskina. Her boyfriend had donated biopsy material for the birth of the child the day before he was sent to war. Natalia, from Moscow, also addressed an open chat to the region's governor, demanding an explanation as to why they would not let her proceed with the fertilization process just because her husband had to re-sign the documents, despite being trapped at the front. "Why do you harass people like this? There is a war outside, they treat me terribly," she lamented.

Nevertheless, in some cases, courts have already ruled in favor of the female plaintiffs. The first of all was that of Maria Sokolova, widow of a lieutenant colonel killed in Luhansk, with whom she had already begun the procedures for assisted reproduction at the time of his disappearance. Although they were not married, as she had the support of the deceased's parents and the clinic, the court gave her the green light.

Going to the front to pay for the pregnancy

These legal obstacles are added to another problem for many Russian couples opting for in vitrofertilization: the high cost of treatment. With the salaries paid in this country, it can be unaffordable for many families.

This has led some men to volunteer to go and fight with the aim of earning money and financing the procedure. At the end of March, United Russia, Putin's party, launched a bill so that the wives and widows of soldiers in the Ukraine war can start assisted reproduction treatments for free and that the state covers all expenses. A further gesture to provide benefits to the relatives of the conflict's veterans, but one that will hardly reverse the country's poor fertility rates.