Sperm Smuggled Out Of Israeli Prison

A new Palestinian mother has admitted she got pregnant after her husband’s sperm was smuggled out of an Israeli prison.

Dalal al-Ziben never thought she would have another child after her husband was sentenced to 27 life sentences, and an 25 extra years, for helping to plan a bombing in a Jerusalem market.

After 16 years, al-Ziben has remained faithful to her husband. She holds on to the hope that one day he will be released.

CNN recently spoke with al-Ziben about her unique form of conception:

“Why does the wife of a prisoner have to suffer and stay like this without children and a family? It is our right to meet our husbands and our right to have children.”

Conjugal visits are not allowed in Israeli prisons, so finding another method to have her husband’s child was necessary.

Dalal al-Ziben refuses to tell how her husband’s sperm was successfully smuggled out of an Israeli high security prison. She explains her reasoning simply:

“I’m not going to tell so I won’t ruin it for other people.”

In fact, al-Ziben is not the only Palestinian female to become pregnant this way. She is one of five women who have come out recently.

The Razan Medical Center for Fertility and IVF is performing the inseminations. Dr. Salim Abu Khaizaran, head of the fertility center, tell CNN:

“We are a male dominated society, we are an eastern society. Our women, whose husbands have been given long sentences, they have no choice but to wait for their husbands to get freed and as you know the female productive life is really limited.”

Khaizaran is encouraging wives of imprisoned husbands to consider artificial insemination this way to avoid suspicion of cheating. He and his staff believe they are doing the right thing. Because many of his patient’s husbands are serving life sentences, this may be the only chance they have to get pregnant:

“Really the one who pays the price the heavy price is the woman. If I can do anything to help these women I will do it.”

In the United States the biggest sperm problem is sperm count. Recent studies have shown that too much television and diets high in saturated fat can greatly reduce sperm count. It is always good to get a perspective of related problems facing other countries.

Do you think it’s fair that some Palestinian women are paying to have their husband’s sperm smuggled out of prison so they can have a child?