מזרעו של מת בישראל: הברית בין משפחתיות, פרו־נטליזם, שכול, מיליטריזם ופטריארכיה

This article asks what enabled the sociolegal consensus around posthumous reproduction (PR) in Israel and the establishment of a new family model in Israel, which we called “The Extended Family of Choice.” This model was created either when a young man died without a surviving partner, or when the surviving parted did not want to become pregnant using his sperm. In the second scenario, the parents seek to have a grandchild with a woman who did not know their deceased son. Our argument is based on analysis of the official discourse around PR, including case law published between 1997-2022, the Attorney General’s directive, recommendations of a public committee, 5 bills, and parliamentary protocols. Our exploration of the legal rules’ evolution shows that while the early bills focused on soldiers’ sperm, the latest bill (from September2022) applies to all Israeli citizens, with a unique framework for soldiers embedded within the inclusive language of the bill. The article argues that the Israeli covenant between familism, pronatalism, bereavement, militarism and patriarchy opened a wide gate to the revolutionary family model, and to a certain extent has also made this model mandatory in the context of soldier’s deaths.