Just two days ago, the Supreme Court in Brisbane, Australia, announced an important ruling. Ella, a 24-year-old young girl, waited nine months to win the battle.
After nearly a year of sentencing, she finally got the legal right to use her deceased boyfriend's sperm.
"I can't be together, but I still want to have a baby for you?"
The story begins two years ago.
In 2016, Ella had been dating her boyfriend Joshua for three years, and the relationship had been very stable. At that time, the couple had been saving money to buy a house, ready to join hands to enter the next stage of life.
But on August 24, Ella's most mundane day became unforgettable because of a bad news. Joshua was found to have committed suicide at home.
He walked so suddenly that everyone was surprised: why would a man who was going to marry and start a family with a girlfriend who had been in love for many years suddenly commit suicide?
Only Ella knew Joshua had been battling depression and had gone to psychological institutions for help. In the end, however, he chose to leave all those who loved him in the most resolute way.
When the people around her were surprised and saddened by Joshua's death, Ella began to think about a new question. Ella, who spent three years with Joshua, thought that although Joshua had committed suicide, what must have been desired most in her boyfriend's heart. Or with the family and children to settle down with the living.
So far, Ella made a decision: even if Joshua died, she would live in the name of his undead.
She found Joshua's father, John, and made her point of view: "I want to have Joshua's child."
At first hearing Ella's plan, John was shocked and moved. The old man had no idea that his son's blood would last. But after the excitement, a new question emerged: how can we conceive of a child of a dead man?
After careful thinking, Ella came up with the idea of getting pregnant by collecting her boyfriend's sperm.
Post-mortem sperm extraction? The idea is almost unheard of. Can the sperm survive a man's death? Is the sperm extraction procedure for everyone? This is medical doubt.
Even John is a little uncertain whether this is legal in Australia.
Does sperm, like a human organ, have the right to deal with it when the deceased has not signed the relevant will?
In fact, the practice of postmortem sperm extraction took place as early as the 1970s in the United States. However, different regions of the world hold different attitudes towards this.
Countries such as France, Germany, Sweden and other countries have explicitly banned postmortem sperm, while some countries, such as Queensland, Australia, to which John belongs, do not have explicit legislation, although they do not directly prohibit it.
John called Joshua's mother and the couple, after some understanding and consultation, finally decided to support Ella and help her to apply to the court for permission.
Ella first made an urgent application to the court, with the assistance of a legal representative, to leave the dead Joshua's semen.
Postmortem sperm extraction, which sounds unthinkable, was finally approved by the court for the consent and request of the deceased's parents and girlfriend.
Joshua's sperm was taken out about 48 hours after his death and kept in a test tube pregnancy facility.
The "sperm extraction" process is no longer easy, but Ella's final plan is not only to collect and preserve the sperm of her deceased boyfriend, but also to apply to the law for the right to use it.
Last year, Ella filed a formal request for court approval to use her late boyfriend's sperm for artificial insemination to give birth to new life.
With the birth of a child from the dead, Ella's approach finally inspired the ethical nerves of the masses.
After all, sperm has some particularity. Some judges would argue that sperm should have a higher legal status than blood, bone marrow or organs. Tissues or organs may be used to save lives, but sperm can rebuild them.
If the will of the deceased can only be guessed, does the person around him have the right to collect his sperm?
Several of Joshua's friends also gave the court an affidavit stating that, before Joshua's death, they had heard him mention more than once that they wanted to settle down and have their own children.
The trial lasted more than nine months, two days after Ella, accompanied by Joshua's parents, came to the Supreme Court of Brisbane to hear the judge's ruling.
"I'm fully prepared and capable of having and raising a child alone," Ella said.
Eventually, the Brisbane Supreme Court declared that Ella was granted the right to use her dead boyfriend's sperm for artificial pregnancy. The court further ruled that sperm should also be regarded as "property" and that Ella had the right to own it permanently.
After two years of scrutiny and questioning, Ella still obeys her inner voice and wins the battle.
Ella's case, for Queensland, Australia, is a landmark decision. Previously, Queensland had never allowed sperm from the deceased to be extracted and used for reproductive purposes.
But in fact, medical technology has been developed to successfully extract sperm from the deceased and give birth to healthy babies through artificial insemination.