Family10/11/2026

Family of Fallen Officer May Use His Sperm to Bring a Grandchild Into the World

After nearly 14 years of legal struggle, the parents of fallen Israeli Navy officer Omri Shahar will be able to proceed with the process of bringing his biological child into the world. According to the family, the appeal proceedings ended in its favor, and the State Attorney’s Office and the Attorney General waived any further appeal.

Key facts

•The deceased: Captain Omri Shahar
•Death: June 2012, car accident
•The family’s first victory: 2016
•Court: Petah Tikva Family Court
•Judge: Yocheved Greenwald-Rand
•The case number and precise date of the decision were not stated

Who Was Involved in the Dispute

Captain Omri Shahar, a Navy officer and recipient of the IDF Chief of Staff’s Award for Excellence, was killed in June 2012 in a car accident at the age of 25, while returning from a unit event to the base in Ashdod. His parents, Irit and Asher Shahar, acted immediately after his death to preserve his sperm. The family sought to use the biological material to bring into the world a child who would be Omri’s biological continuation.

How the Family’s Plan Changed

In 2016, the Petah Tikva Family Court permitted the parents to use their son’s sperm to bring a child into the world through a surrogate mother and raise the child themselves. The state appealed the decision: the District Court overturned it, and the Supreme Court denied the parents’ request for permission to file a further appeal. The family subsequently found a woman who agreed to bear a child conceived with Omri’s sperm, be the child’s mother, and raise the child, while Irit and Asher would be the child’s grandparents.

Why the Court Again Sided With the Parents

In March, the precise date of which is not stated in the source, Judge Yocheved Greenwald-Rand again granted the family’s request. She ruled that the state had breached an administrative promise made to the parents in the previous proceeding: at that time, they were told that the state would not oppose the birth of a child to a biological mother who would raise the child herself. The judge also accepted the claim that the family had been discriminated against compared with other families.

How the Proceedings Ended

The state sought to stay the implementation of the new decision pending an appeal. However, according to Irit Shahar, the appeal proceedings ended in the family’s favor, and the State Attorney’s Office and the Attorney General decided not to appeal the outcome further. The family can now proceed with the process of bringing the child into the world; its medical outcome is still unknown.

What this means for you

The decision shows that, in cases involving the posthumous use of sperm, a court may take into account not only the family circumstances but also a prior administrative promise made by the state, as well as equal treatment of families in similar situations. However, the article does not report recognition of a general and automatic right of parents to use the biological material of their deceased child: the outcome described concerns this specific family and the revised plan under which the child’s biological mother will raise the child.

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Case analysis based on court rulings