Widow Fails to Conceive With Mate’s Sperm

A young woman whose claim to ownership of the sperm of her dead husband made legal history last year has failed in her attempts to become pregnant from the sperm, her doctor said today.

Corinne Parpalaix, 22, was artificially inseminated on Nov. 28 after a court granted her permission last August to reclaim a deposit of sperm left by her husband, Alain, with a sperm bank before he underwent cancer surgery.

Alain died in December, 1983, and Corinne set a legal precedent in France by going to court when the sperm bank refused to hand over the deposit after his death.

Although she won the court case, the attempt at artificial insemination failed because of insufficient quantity and poor quality of the sperm, gynecologist Roland Dajoux said.

“There is a 15% chance of success when the sperm is of perfect quality,” Dajoux said.

“In Corinne’s case, there were only nine test tubes of frozen sperm. Two were used for tests and I injected the remaining seven all at once to give her the best chance for conception. (But) Corinne’s case is unfortunately closed.”