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


