Sperm Donor Parental Rights
Are sperm donors legal parents? How do states treat sperm donors and egg donors differently under the law? Yale Law Professor, Douglas NeJaime explains how states vary wildly when it comes to rules on sperm donation. For example, according to Prof. NeJaime, some states only provide sperm donors with protections to avoid being treated as a parent only when the birth mother is married. Unmarried recipients of donor sperm in such states could then sue their donors (if they can identify them) for child support.
Prof. NeJaime and host, Joel, then discuss other examples where sperm donors who did not wish to be treated as parents were assessed parental responsibilities as well as cases where men who donated sperm then wished to assert their rights as the genetic father to have a role in their child's life. Finally, NeJaime shares insights on egg donations, including an example where the use of egg donation was used to attempt to disqualify a non-genetic mother from retaining custody or parental rights.
