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Take ActionIllinois Donor Insemination Law
Illinois law focuses on married couples undergoing artificial insemination. In that process, the husband’s written consent is required and the procedure must be performed by a physician. The law also allows a woman to obtain semen from a licensed physician for artificial insemination and strips the donor of any legal relationship to the child.
Cases Dealing with Donor Insemination.
In one 2003 case, In re Parentage of M.J., a heterosexual couple in a longstanding, unmarried relationship underwent artificial insemination by an anonymous donor. The male partner provided financial and other support during the procedure and pregnancy, but never gave his written consent for the insemination. When their relationship ended, the female partner sought to establish paternity over the child and to impose a support obligation on the male partner, under both the Illinois Parentage Act and common-law theories of breach of oral contract. The Illinois Supreme Court concluded that the written consent provision of the law was mandatory to establish the woman’s former partner as the legal father of her children. (The court explicitly stated that it was not deciding whether the act applies to unmarried people.) However, the court determined that the woman could proceed on her common law claims and would probably succeed if she could provide evidence that her partner consented to the insemination.
Citations: 750 ILL. COMP. STAT. 40/3 (2003); In re Parentage of M.J., 203 Ill. 2d 526, 787 N.E.2d 144, 272 Ill. Dec. 329 (Ill. 2003).
Updated: Sun, August 29, 2004 - 11:00:52
