Clifford Rosky, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, was interviewed recently by Fox-13 News for a story titled “Mother fighting Social Security Administration may set court precedent.” After Michael Burns’ death, his widow, Gail, used his frozen sperm to have a child. For seven years, she has been battling the Social Security Administration for her son Ian to receive his father’s social security survivor benefits, and is now taking her fight to the Utah Supreme Court.
Rosky comments on how this matter will likely set a precedent in Utah. “This is a pretty complex case,” he says. “But at the end of the day, it boils down to a contract. The question is whether by signing that contract, [Michael Burns] consented to being legally recognized as the child’s parent, even if the child was conceived after his death.”
To view the first part of the story, click here. To view the second part, featuring Rosky’s comments, click here.