full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Ellen Trachman: What happens to people's donated eggs and sperm after they die?
Unscramble the Blue Letters
Before his death in California in 1991, a man named William Kane wrote a letter to the cilrdehn from his first marriage and to his fiancee, Deborah. It read, "I address this to my children because although I have only two of you, Everett and ktaie, it may be that Deborah decides, as I hope she will, to have a child by me after my death. I have been assuuosildy generating sperm samples for that eventuality. If she does, then this letetr is for my posthumous offspring as well, with the thought that I have loved you in my dreams, even though I never got to see you born.”
What happened after wliialm Kane's death was a lawsuit that would forever change the law. His ex-wife and adult children argued that Deborah should not be allowed to use the srepm samples. They should be destroyed. And a trial court agreed with them. But Deborah appealed, and a California appellate crout areegd with her, fnnidig that William Kane, and all of us, have the right to use our DNA after our death, even to have children.
Open Cloze
Before his death in California in 1991, a man named William Kane wrote a letter to the ________ from his first marriage and to his fiancee, Deborah. It read, "I address this to my children because although I have only two of you, Everett and _____, it may be that Deborah decides, as I hope she will, to have a child by me after my death. I have been ___________ generating sperm samples for that eventuality. If she does, then this ______ is for my posthumous offspring as well, with the thought that I have loved you in my dreams, even though I never got to see you born.”
What happened after _______ Kane's death was a lawsuit that would forever change the law. His ex-wife and adult children argued that Deborah should not be allowed to use the _____ samples. They should be destroyed. And a trial court agreed with them. But Deborah appealed, and a California appellate _____ ______ with her, _______ that William Kane, and all of us, have the right to use our DNA after our death, even to have children.
Solution
- sperm
- letter
- assiduously
- court
- finding
- children
- katie
- agreed
- william
Original Text
Before his death in California in 1991, a man named William Kane wrote a letter to the children from his first marriage and to his fiancee, Deborah. It read, "I address this to my children because although I have only two of you, Everett and Katie, it may be that Deborah decides, as I hope she will, to have a child by me after my death. I have been assiduously generating sperm samples for that eventuality. If she does, then this letter is for my posthumous offspring as well, with the thought that I have loved you in my dreams, even though I never got to see you born.”
What happened after William Kane's death was a lawsuit that would forever change the law. His ex-wife and adult children argued that Deborah should not be allowed to use the sperm samples. They should be destroyed. And a trial court agreed with them. But Deborah appealed, and a California appellate court agreed with her, finding that William Kane, and all of us, have the right to use our DNA after our death, even to have children.
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
ngrams of length 2
| collocation |
frequency |
| legal parents |
4 |
| sperm samples |
2 |
| court agreed |
2 |
| hedge funds |
2 |
| genetically related |
2 |
| juridical person |
2 |
| judge determined |
2 |
| birth parents |
2 |
| genetic parents |
2 |
| reproductive material |
2 |
| sperm retrieved |
2 |
Important Words
- address
- adult
- agreed
- allowed
- appealed
- appellate
- argued
- assiduously
- born
- california
- change
- child
- children
- court
- death
- deborah
- decides
- destroyed
- dna
- dreams
- eventuality
- everett
- fiancee
- finding
- generating
- happened
- hope
- kane
- katie
- law
- lawsuit
- letter
- loved
- man
- marriage
- named
- offspring
- posthumous
- read
- samples
- sperm
- thought
- trial
- william
- wrote