"Inseminated People Given Same Rights As Adopted People" or "Why Wasn't This Law?"

[Magus]

Originally Posted by ZARAK

What bothers me is the deliberate sexism of these kinds of legislation and the arguments surrounding it, which most people won't give a second thought about. Why is it only male donors are being targeted? What about the women who donate their eggs (which carry greater compensation, by the way)? Doesn't anyone want to track down their biological mothers? Can't go 'round having those unexpected Oedipus incidents, right?

What if the child is produced from the genetic samples of two donors? Then what? The courts move in to hit these people up for back child support? I wouldn't be surprised if that's the direction they're headed in.

The law so far protects donors from having to pay child support...presuming they went through a licensed fertility clinic, since apparently here in PA they forced a man who donated his sperm to a married couple outside of the actual channels to pay support for the child after the married couple divorced and the woman went to court about it (really got to examine the character of this woman in forcing the donor to pay the child support, but I guess desperate people do desperate things if they can get away with it). But fortunately most of the states consider the contracts signed to waive these rights/obligations valid along as they're notarized and such.

Regarding your first point, there probably are donor egg babies who have wanted to know who their biological mother is, and I'm guessing somebody will raise that point soon enough (if this legislation passes, which is a big if), and it would be added. BUT, if there is a shortage of donor egg babies wanting to know their biological mothers, I can only surmise it is due to a similar psychology that makes them want to know who their "real" father is--their surrogate mother carried them and raised them and so it must not occur to them that they "need" to know their biological mother, whereas with their biological father they somehow needed to know...maybe these were single surrogate mothers and they don't have any father figure to look at as a father? I dunno. Each individual would probably be different, with different reasons. One would think their adoptive father would be "good enough" but there may be myriad emotions and so on involved...and it may be simply "I'm satisfied with my parents but just curious because of physiological issues".