| There are
currently thousands of people who have no way of finding
out their [genetic] parent's identity. They are the
result of conception using donor sperm or eggs and
it has been against the [UK] law to tell them who
their biological parents are. Now the government is
consulting on whether they should get any information
and if so how much.
Adopted children [in the UK] were given
the right retrospectively to discover their identity,
even if their birth parents had wanted anonymity when
they were adopted. Currently the government says this
won't happen for donor children. But should it? The
Human Rights Act might say so.
Should donor children born in the future
be allowed to find out who their donor is, or just
more non-identifying information? How do you balance
the child's need to know and the donor's need for
privacy? If there is full disclosure will anyone still
choose to donate or will this sort of infertility
treatment vanish?
Listen to this [excellent!] BBC radio
program at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/thecommission_20020925.shtml
COMMISSIONERS
* Peter Stanford, Author, broadcaster & chairman
of the national [UK] disability charity, ASPIRE.
* Ann Alexander, lawyer specializing in clinical negligence;
represents individuals & campaigns for their rights
in overturning decisions made by authorities.
* Courtenay Griffiths, lawyer specializing in criminal
law, & civil actions against the police &
inquests.
WITNESSES
* Vivienne Nathanson, Head of Ethics at the British
Medical Association. (The BMA's ethics committee proposed
to support the rights of donor children in receiving
information. However, when this was proposed in their
recent annual meeting, the members voted against it,
maintaining the BMA's traditional position of anonymity.)
* David Gollancz, lawyer conceived through
Donor Insemination who argues it is a human right
to know your heritage. [NB. David is the 1/2 sibling
via DI of Canadian filmmaker, Barry Stevens, whose
film, "Offspring," about his search for
his genetic family, has won a number of international
awards.
See: ttp://www.cbc.ca/programs/sites/features/offspring/index.htm
Both Barry & David have spoken at seminars sponsored
by the Infertility Network which are available on
video tape. Contact Admin@InfertilityNetwork.org
for details. ]
* Walter Merricks, Donor Conception
Network (http://www.dcnetwork.org),
a charitable foundation set up in 1993 to support
families contemplating or undergoing gamete donation
treatment, those with children who were created by
donor egg/sperm/embryo, & individuals conceived
in this way. (Approx imately 600 members)
* Francoise Shenfield, Medical Ethicist,
consultant at London's Women's Clinic
* Baroness Mary Warnock, British philosopher
& university administrator; a moral philosopher
with a particular interest in educational matters,
well known for her work on government bodies dealing
with some of the most complex ethical issues of our
time.
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