Widow Wants Social Security for Her ‘Test Tube’ Baby

June 23, 2009

Shortly after an Iowa couple was married in 2001, they were devastated by the news that the new husband was diagnosed with leukemia. He required chemotherapy to attempt to combat the cancer. However, it is known that the radiation treatment can often cause sterility, so he banked some of his sperm before he began the treatments.

Two years after he died, his wife used the banked sperm for in vitro fertilization. Her daughter was conceived in a test tube and was born. Now, the woman is seeking to collect social security benefits for the girl.

The problem is that laws were created in Iowa before the technologies of genetic material preservation and in vitro fertilization were invented. Therefore, her case will have to go before a judge. She is challenging the decision, because winning her case would mean more than $150,000 in social security benefits, which could help to pay for her daughter’s college education.