The Supreme Court was asked to rule whether a father-child relationship could be legally recognized in the case where a child’s mother became pregnant through in-vitro fertilization with the frozen sperm of a deceased husband who, while he was alive, had consented to the use of the sperm even after his death. The Supreme Court reversed the High Court’s ruling and declined to recognize the father-child relationship. The Supreme Court considered that the legal framework in Japan concerning parent-child relationships did not anticipate such a relationship between a father and his child who was conceived after his death in light of the fact that, even if the father-child relationship had been legally established, the deceased father would not be in a position to hold parental rights, he would not be able to support his child, and the child could not be an heir of the father for the purposes of inheritance. According to the Supreme Court, such issues need to be addressed by legislation upon analyzing several factors including bioethics, child welfare, and social acceptance. As the country lacks such legislation, the Supreme Court did not find that the father-parent relationship could be established.
本件は、亡夫の妻が冷凍保存していた亡夫の精子を用いて人工受精で妊娠した場合に、亡夫と子の父子関係が法的に認められるべきか否かを最高裁が判断した事案である。最高裁は高裁の判決を破棄し、夫は死後の授精、出産の意思をもっていたが、法律上の親子関係が生じることを想定していないとし、父子関係が認められないとした。また、最高裁は、仮に父子関係が法的に成立していたとしても、その父親は親権者になり得る余地はなく、子を養育、扶養することもできず、子が父の相続人にもなり得ないとした。このように、父子関係が存在するか否かは、生命倫理、子の福祉、社会一般の考え方等多角的な観点から検討を行い、立法によって解決されるべき問題であって、日本にこのような法律がない以上、父子関係の形成は認められないとした。
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