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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2010
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    2

    Default Legal Obligations of a Sperm Donor

    Given a section of a state code, are statements within that code valid only in the context of the section they appear within, or can they have broader applicability? I'm interested in whether a known sperm donor to an unmarried and unattached woman can be free of obligation to the resulting child. I'm talking about a donation to someone the donor knows, under the supervision of a doctor, not an anonymous sperm bank donation. For example, in the state of Illinois, their code has a section that reads:

    Sec. 3. Husband of artificially inseminated wife; treatment as natural father

    3. (a) If, under the supervision of a licensed physician and with the consent of her husband, a wife is inseminated artificially with semen donated by a man not her husband, the husband shall be treated in law as if he were the natural father of a child thereby conceived. The husband's consent must be in writing executed and acknowledged by both the husband and wife. The physician who is to perform the technique shall certify their signatures and the date of the insemination, and file the husband's consent in the medical record where it shall be kept confidential and held by the patient's physician. However, the physician's failure to do so shall not affect the legal relationship between father and child. All papers and records pertaining to the insemination, whether part of the permanent medical record held by the physician or not, are subject to inspection only upon an order of the court for good cause shown.

    3. (b) The donor of semen provided to a licensed physician for use in artificial insemination of a woman other than the donor's wife shall be treated in law as if he were not the natural father of a child thereby conceived.

    The section is concerned with the issue of husband/father rights in the context of his wife who would be artificially inseminated. However, part (b) is a standalone statement that could have broader applicability. For example, what if the woman who was artificially inseminated was not married: would the sperm donor, if known, still be treated in law as if he were not the natural father?

    I know this question is kind of family law and maybe more about basics of understanding statutes. If there's a better forum to post this in let me know and I'll move it.

    thx

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
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    Somewhere near Canada
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    35,894

    Default Re: Legal Obligations of a Sperm Donor

    As was answered on another board... here




    If you want to protect yourself fully, you need to go through a sperm bank.

    Otherwise you CAN be held financially responsible.

    The answers haven't changed

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: Legal Obligations of a Sperm Donor

    Was just looking for a second opinion since a licensed attorney here said otherwise (the attorney working for the recipient). I'd definitely still be interested to know if there is a reference on reading statutes that explains that statements within a section are only valid within the context of the section. It seemed obvious to me all along but this attorney said that wasn't the case.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    28,906

    Default Re: Legal Obligations of a Sperm Donor

    Quote Quoting Illinois Parentage Act
    750 ILCS 40/1
    This Act may be cited as the Illinois Parentage Act.
    750 ILCS 40/2
    [indent]Any child or children born as the result of heterologous artificial insemination shall be considered at law in all respects the same as a naturally conceived legitimate child of the husband and wife so requesting and consenting to the use of such technique.[indent]
    750 ILCS 40/3
    (a) If, under the supervision of a licensed physician and with the consent of her husband, a wife is inseminated artificially with semen donated by a man not her husband, the husband shall be treated in law as if he were the natural father of a child thereby conceived. The husband's consent must be in writing executed and acknowledged by both the husband and wife. The physician who is to perform the technique shall certify their signatures and the date of the insemination, and file the husband's consent in the medical record where it shall be kept confidential and held by the patient's physician. However, the physician's failure to do so shall not affect the legal relationship between father and child. All papers and records pertaining to the insemination, whether part of the permanent medical record held by the physician or not, are subject to inspection only upon an order of the court for good cause shown.

    (b) The donor of semen provided to a licensed physician for use in artificial insemination of a woman other than the donor's wife shall be treated in law as if he were not the natural father of a child thereby conceived.
    Can the lawyer produce a more compelling case than this, In re Parentage of MJ, 787 NE 2d 144 (2003), which leaves the issue open? ("... we need not and do not make any determination with regard to whether the Illinois Parentage Act applies to unmarried persons.")

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