A Need to Know Basis? Canadian Federalism and the Disclosure of Egg and Sperm Donor Identities.

Abstract

In Canada, gamete donation can be known or anonymous. When a child is conceived using anonymously donated gametes, that child does not have a right to know the identity of their donor. Currently, there is no registry storing gamete donor information accessible to donor-conceived persons and no legislation or judicial precedent protecting a donor-conceived person's right to know the identity of their biological parent(s). With third party reproduction now regularly shifting the traditional outlines of family, these practices are increasing- ly attracting judicial oversight. This paper examines the consequences of the Supreme Court of Canada's Reference re Assisted Human Reproduction Act, S.C. 2004, c. 2 (AHRA), which identified donor anonymity as a matter of provincial jurisdiction. The paper argues that the Supreme Court's decision defined the future of anonymous gamete donation in Canada by strongly protecting anonymity.