Between the Binaries: Exploring the Legal Boundaries of Nonanonymous Sperm Donation

Abstract

Contemporary practices in alternative insemination are challenging binaries — the either/or categories — on which family law has long relied. In particular, when unmarried women use the sperm of known donors, often bypassing physician assistance and medical regulation, they defy traditional rules that distinguish parents from nonparents and sexual conception from nonsexual conception.

Several highly publicized recent cases showcase the shortcomings of family law’s conventional approach. These cases present contests over a known donor’s visitation rights and support obligations as well as claims advanced by the “free sperm movement.” This Article analyzes these cases and responds to the problems that they raise by considering the promise of three less categorical and more flexible solutions: an intermediate status lying between “parent” and “donor,” contractual relationships, and analysis centered on the child’s interests.

Keywords: Assisted reproduction, Alternative insemination, Sperm donation, Parentage, Children, Reproductive autonomy