EveryBody's Guide to the Law

Be aware that there is a greater, more stable body of law when it comes to sperm donors
who donate their sperm anonymously through sperm banks and physicians. Regardless of
whether or not the woman is married, where the donor of the sperm is anonymous and a
physician or someone working under his or her direction performed the artificial insemination,
the donor generally is not considered to be the legal father of the child. The anonymous
sperm donor cannot be compelled to provide any financial or emotional support for the child,
nor does the child have a right to any of the sperm donor’s estate when the donor dies. On the
other hand, the donor usually has no right to visit the child, nor can he gain custody of the
child. Indeed, most of the time the mother does not know the identity of the semen donor,
nor does the donor know if a child was ever conceived from his semen. In the case of a married
couple where the husband has consented to the artificial insemination procedure in writing,
the husband normally is considered the child’s natural father. If the couple should divorce
at a later time, he cannot get out of paying child support by claiming the child isn’t biologically
his.
Sperm donors traditionally have been anonymous, and the sperm bank has kept their identities
sealed. Some courts, however, have permitted certain discovery about the donor, especially
his medical history. One case involved an 11-year-old girl afflicted with kidney disease.
The girl’s parents sued the sperm bank, claiming that the anonymous donor was allowed to
give sperm even though there was a history of kidney disease in his family. The court held that
the anonymous donor had to testify in the case as to his family’s health history, but that his
identity was to remain concealed to the fullest possible extent.
When a woman is artificially inseminated with the sperm of someone she knows, she is
treading in murky waters. Even if she is married and her husband has signed a written consent
to be the child’s father, this is no guarantee that the sperm donor will not attempt to gain visitation
rights to the child. In cases involving a minor child, the judge is more likely to ignore
the written consent and look at the whole picture. There is very little law in this area to guide
the judge. And if the mother is single, or gets a divorce, the biological father may sue for custody
of the child or, conversely, may be required to pay child support. We cannot stress too
much how important it is to hire a lawyer who specializes in this area to assist and counsel you.
It may cost you a few dollars now, but that is preferable to losing the child to the donor in the
future.
Egg Donors
When a couple (we’ll assume they’re married) is unable to have a baby because of a problem
with the wife’s eggs, they may wish to consider in vitro fertilization, in which another woman’s
healthy egg is fertilized by the husband’s sperm, then implanted in the wife’s uterus. The wife
carries the fetus to term and gives birth to a healthy baby boy or girl.
One major question is, where do the healthy eggs come from? Some come from women who
Marriage, Divorce, and the Family 29