September 17, 2013

Thanks Olivia! The End of Anonymous Sperm Donation in British Columbia

While this blog was sleeping, on May 19, 2011, the ground shook in British Columbia. Not literally, though there is a risk of earthquakes there. This time the earthquake came in the form of a judgement by the Supreme Court of British Columbia, striking down the provincial legislation that had protected donor anonymity.

The lawsuit had been brought by Olivia Pratten, about whom I have written here before - a young Canadian woman who had long sought in vain to find her anonymous sperm donor father. Olivia went to NYU and got a law degree, and she came back to Canada with the torch ablaze, ready to torch our antiquated laws through her luminous lawsuit. Thankfully the judge heard and listened, and agreed. Here is the wonderful, detailed verdict.

The verdict lists mounds of research, expert testimony and personal stories, all of which build a very convincing case against anonymous donor conception. To any person who is considering anonymous donor conception to build their family: please read the verdict above and consider the evidence!

In fact, if you read between the lines, this verdict makes a very convincing case for ending donor conception altogether.