FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISON

Federal Bureau of Prison

Federal Bureau of Prison

The only problem is he is currently in jail with the 100-year-to-life sentence. After being incarcerated Mr. Gerber and his wife's desire to have children only grew stronger. Now that William Gerber will never be able to come home again, he wants to FedEx his sperm to his wife for artificial insemination. This is allowed in some prisons but not all. (Marshall 2000)

The prison warden at William Gerber's prison will not let him send his semen, so he has filed the lawsuit against prison. He says that prison is depriving him of rights under due process clause of constitution (Grossman). Everyone has fundamental privacy rights such as sexual activity, marriage, and raising the family. The question is do these rights still stand when the person is sent to jail. But more importantly does right to procreation, right to produce offspring, extend to prisoners. All prisoners have the right to procreation as long as it does not interfere with their sentence. (Green 1999)

Should prisoners have this right? If so do both male and female prisoners have this right? Every man and woman has the right to procreate under normal circumstances but it is not specified whether or not prisoners have this right. Some prisons do allow men to send their sperm to their wives for artificial insemination but there is nothing written saying that prisoners have to be allowed to do this. It is very simple for the male prisoner to send his semen from jail. It does not require prisoner to have any visits with the physician and he does not even have to leave prison. There are many prisons that are allowing men to send their semen to their wives or significant others right now but not all prisons are allowing ...