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| Inmate's Right to Procreate Reviewed |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 03/22/2002 |
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Federal appeals court judges heard arguments Wednesday over whether a California inmate serving a life sentence has the right to procreate by mailing semen to his wife. William Gerber, 42, is not allowed conjugal visits, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has been asked to decide if he can artificially inseminate his 46-year-old wife, Evelyn, by sending bodily fluids. 'All we're asking is for Mr. Gerber to collect his sperm and somehow get it out of prison,' his attorney, Teresa Zuber, said during arguments before the judges in Phoenix. The judges did not say when they would rule. A decision favoring Gerber could open the door for women prisoners to assert they too have a right to mail their eggs so another woman could have their baby, the circuit court judges noted during oral arguments Wednesday. Judge Ronald M. Gould said it was not clear to him that there is a fundamental right to procreate in prison. 'Why isn't this a reasonable restriction?' asked Judge Pamela Rymer. The U.S. Supreme Court has said prisoners have a right to marry and be free from forced sterilization. But neither the high court nor lower courts have ruled on circumstances presented in the Gerber case. Gerber was sentenced to life in prison under California's three strikes law for illegally discharging a firearm, making terrorist threats and using narcotics. He originally approached the California Department of Corrections which decided that while inmates not serving life terms are granted conjugal visits, there's no fundamental right allowing prisoners to mail their bodily fluids to procreate. A federal court in Sacramento agreed and Gerber appealed. In September, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated Gerber's civil rights suit but later set aside the ruling without comment to have it reheard by all 11 judges. The circuit's decision will affect prisoners in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Aside from California, no other state in the circuit's reach allows inmates to have sexual contact with loved ones, said Gregory Walston, deputy attorney general for California. If the court upholds its earlier decision, male inmates could sue prisons for the right to procreate via the mail or through other medical means. |
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