''Astrue v. Capato'', 566 U.S. 541 (2012), was a case in which the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

held that children conceived after a parent's death are not entitled to Social Security Survivors benefits if the laws in the state that the parent's

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

was signed in forbid it. The case was a

unanimous Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. Groups may consider unanimous decisions as a sign of social, political or procedural agreement, solidarity, and unity. Unanimity may be assumed explicitly after a unanimous vote or impl ...

decision.

Background

In 1999, Karen Capato's husband, Robert Capato, was diagnosed with

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...

. Out of fear that he would become

sterile Sterile or sterility may refer to: *Asepsis, a state of being free from biological contaminants * Sterile (archaeology), a sediment deposit which contains no evidence of human activity *Sterilization (microbiology), any process that eliminates or ...

due to the chemotherapy, Robert started to deposit sperm in a

sperm bank A sperm bank, semen bank, or cryobank is a facility or enterprise which purchases, stores and sells human semen. The semen is produced and sold by men who are known as sperm donation, sperm donors. The sperm is purchased by or for other persons f ...

in 2001. He began to recover and discovered that he was not left infertile by the cancer treatments. This led to the Capatos conceiving a son. Robert's condition started to worsen in 2002 and he died of cancer. Eighteen months after her husband's death, in 2003, Capato gave birth to twins. They were conceived after Robert's death using the sperm deposited in the sperm bank via ''in vitro'' fertilization. This was according to the Capatos' plan, so their son could have siblings. She applied for

Social Security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

Survivors Benefits based on her husband's earnings during his lifetime. Her claim was rejected by the

Social Security Administration The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government that administers Social Security (United ...

(SSA).

Litigation history

The administrative Judge for the Social Security Administration ruled that the place of death of Robert Capato was Florida. Under Florida law children can not inherit from a parent if they were conceived after that parent's death. The Social Security Administration has used state inheritance laws as the deciding factor if a person was a "child" under the Social Security Act and therefore eligible for survivors benefits since the 1940s. Capato appealed the Social Security Administration's decision and the case moved to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The appeals court reversed the Social Security Administration's decision.

Before the Court

Are children conceived by ''in vitro'' fertilization after their biological father's death protected under Title II of the Social Security Act?

Decision

In a unanimous 9–0 decision, Justice Ginsburg wrote the majority decision for the Supreme Court in favor of Astrue, stated that the children conceived after the death of their father were not entitled to Social Security benefits.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

* {{caselaw source , case = ''Astrue v. Capato'', {{Ussc, 566, 541, 2012, el=no , courtlistener =https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/800567/astrue-v-capato/ , googlescholar = https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6577565239241615023 , justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/566/541/ , oyez =https://www.oyez.org/cases/2011/11-159 , other_source1 = Supreme Court (slip opinion) (archived) , other_url1 =https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11-159.pdf United States Supreme Court cases 2012 in United States case law Social Security lawsuits United States Supreme Court cases of the Roberts Court