Walling Claims In or Out: Misappropriation of Human Gametic Material and the Tort of Conversion

Abstract:     
This article discusses fraudulent consent to sexual intercourse as a defense to paying child support. In two separate cases, men had intercourse with women they were not married to. The women bore babies as a result and then sought child support payments from the fathers. The men said that the women had fraudulently obtained consent to intercourse by falsely representing that they were using birth control. Therefore, the men argued, the women were liable for "conversion" of their semen, and the men should be excused from paying child support. The article concludes that, even if the men have viable claims for conversion, public policy prevents a waiver of child support payments as damages.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 24

Keywords: Conversion, human reproduction, eggs, semen, embryo, zygote, gamete, ovum, preembryo, genetic, sperm, fertility clinic, child support, birth control, consent, quasi-property, property, cells, conversion, IVF, in vitro, fertilization, Moore v. Regents of the University of California

JEL Classification: K10

Accepted Paper Series