Post-mortem sperm retrieval.

1. Arguments Against Post-Mortem Sperm Retrieval A. Issur Nivvul ha-Met The 613 Torah commandments can be divided into two categories: those between man and God (ben adam la-maqom) and those between man and his fellow man (ben adam la-havero). The prohibition against nivvul ha-met, insulting the dignity of the dead, is a type of damage and, like all types of damages, falls in the category of commandments between man and his fellow man. We learn in the Torah that we are required to pay for damages we cause to others. As long as the one who incurred the damage does not forgive the one who caused it, the latter is obligated to pay for the damages, even if he is not being sued. However, nowhere in the Torah does it explicitly say that causing damage to your fellow man is forbidden. It is written that if one causes damage he must pay for it, but it does not say that causing damage in the first place is forbidden. We learn from the oral Torah (Tora she-be-’al peh) that the source of the prohibition against causing damage to another person is lo tigzol, “thou shall not steal.” Inflicting any sort of damage is considered stealing, as Rabbeinu Yona teaches us: Moshe received