The case before the Supreme Court involves the twin children of Karen and Robert Capato. Mr. Capato died of esophageal cancer in early 2002. When Mr. Capato's condition had worsened after his diagnosis, the couple decided that he should deposit sperm at a fertility clinic because they wanted their son to have siblings. After Mr. Capato's death, Mrs. Capato used her husband's sperm to become pregnant and gave birth to twins.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) determined that the twins are not eligible for survivors benefits because they were conceived after the death of a parent. A federal appeals court in Philadelphia ruled in favor of Karen Capato because here was a case "where medical-scientific technology had advanced faster than the regulatory process." The government appealed the case, arguing "that posthumously conceived children fall outside the class of children entitled to survivors benefits because 'they were brought into being by a surviving parent with the knowledge that the deceased biological parent will not be able to contribute wages for their support.'" Capato's lawyers have argued that the language of the 1939 Social Security Act defines a child "as biological offspring of a married couple," and that any children of the individual would be eligible to receive survivors benefits, regardless of when they were conceived.
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