I had the opportunity to speak with CKNW’s Marcella Bernardo this weekend about anonymity of sperm donors in light of the recent landmark case Pratten v B.C. (A.G.) – Listen to or download the interview here

My view is that the underlying idea of the decision – that donor conceived children need to have access to information about their biological origins  – is correct.  That said, any change to the law to open up information available about donors must be accompanied by law reform that makes it clear that donors are not the legal parents of the child and should also give donors who donated in the past the right to veto disclosure about their identities. As with adoption, it is critical for the law to balance the rights of children to information about their biological origins with the rights of donors to privacy and with the interest of parents raising children in having a stable family unit where they are recognized as the full legal parents of the children. B.C.’s reformed adoption law provides an excellent model about how this can be done, but needs to be adapted to fit the assisted reproduction context.