Anonymity

Conception. The most natural process in the world. What some think is the very reason we’re put on this earth—to create life. But how much are we responsible for the lives we create after their conception? This is the question facing many sperm donors today.

It’s hard to believe something as natural and simple as conception could be so complicated. But it’s gotten to that point. The word “conception” brings to mind things like birth control, the morning after pill, abortion, adoption, invitro fertilization, artificial insemination, and sperm donation. The last one is an especially hot topic today, because donors are beginning to lose their right to anonymity.

Laws are currently in the works to protect the rights of the children being born from sperm donations instead of protecting the donors as they have in the past. This law would ensure that donors from this point forward are required to sign over their right to anonymity—ensuring that the children are able to find their biological parent when they’re ready to do so.

Should someone donating sperm have more rights than the child that is conceived as a result of that donation? You might argue yes. These men donated sperm because they wanted couples that were unable to have children together to at least be able to go through the child-bearing process together. They wanted single mother’s to have the same joys of creating life as any other woman. They deserve their privacy if they want it. Maybe you’d argue that the mother—or parents—knew when they chose a donor, that there would be no contact, and they made the decision anyway.

Or maybe you think that the child has every right in the world to know who their father is, regardless of anonymity rights. Those children had no choice in the way they were conceived—it was a decision made without their consent, and at the age of eighteen they have the right to know their complete parentage. Besides, those men didn’t exactly make the charitable donation that’s painted in the title “sperm donor.” They were paid. If they can accept money for something that easily, then they ought to be prepared for the consequences down the road.

I would have to agree with the latter group of people. I don’t think all sperm donors are that admirable. Granted, some of the men donating are probably genuinely trying to help people who can’t get pregnant without a donor. But let’s face it, money talks in today’s society.

And the parents that participate in conceiving a child in this manner have choices. If they never tell their child how they were conceived, anonymity of the donor will never be an issue. But if the parents do tell their child about the sperm donor, then at the age of eighteen, what rights do they have to stop that child from finding out about their biological father?

I really believe that a child, eighteen or even younger, has the right to know their biological history—especially when the only thing stopping them from knowing that information is a grown man who casually signed over some bodily fluid for spending money. At the age of eighteen, there is no chance of financial obligations, so the donors have nothing to lose. If the donors are that concerned with secrecy, maybe donating wasn’t something they should have done in the first place.

I think it should be required that every donor, male or female, allow their identities to be released when the child turns eighteen. Maybe putting a requirement like this into the process will weed out people that are only looking to make a few dollars—because like it or not, donating sperm and eggs is a little different than making a donation to the Salvation Army. It should be taken a lot more seriously than it is, and the children that are conceived as a result of the donations should be given more than their biological parents’ eye color.

Conception. Not as easy as it seems when there’s a third party involved.