Jun 15, 2022 03:12 AM
https://www.newsy.com/stories/why-fertil...own-sperm/
EXCERPTS: More and more people are taking these tests and discovering that they are victims of fertility fraud. This is when someone goes in thinking they’re getting donor sperm or in some cases the sperm of their spouse or partner, and the doctor decides to use their own sperm instead — without consent.
This has been happening for years, but surprisingly, because of gaps in laws around fertility fraud, these doctors aren’t necessarily considered criminals. This has been highlighted in a few documentaries and recent settlements.
[...] Many victims say this is sexual assault or rape since they didn’t consent to any of this, and the doctor had to perform a sexual act for all of this to happen. But the laws behind this make cases difficult to prosecute.
[...] "Doctors claim that they don't recall, you know, doing certain things, and so even the genetic test itself is not valid proof that, you know, for example, a rape occurred... Between the problems of proof and the passage of time, I think a lot of prosecutors have just been very reticent about bringing these types of charges."
[...] So far, 10 states have passed fertility fraud legislation. California was the first in 1996, the other nine states only started passing bills as recently as 2019.
"Largely, this is a... new social movement," Madeira said. "So for years, the donor-convinced community has been trying to draw attention to the perils that they fall into, sort of as a human rights matter. Now, here in America, we don't see donor conception as a human rights issue; we see it as a market issue. And so we allow the sperm banks, the fertility clinics, the intended parents to make choices for the donor-conceived siblings that they will never be able to reverse. For example, you know, they can choose to use an anonymous donor. In Europe, these choices are not available because the anonymity is a thing of the past."
[...] "The other thing that's really weird about this is you learn from your child that you were raped, basically.. so in what other crime do you learn that you are a victim of a crime through a technological mechanism that's promoted like a direct-to-consumer genetic test that you didn't even take?" Madeira said. "It's your child that took the test, and then your child has to break the news to you. And it's almost like you are roofied, you know, 30 years ago because you have no recollection." (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: More and more people are taking these tests and discovering that they are victims of fertility fraud. This is when someone goes in thinking they’re getting donor sperm or in some cases the sperm of their spouse or partner, and the doctor decides to use their own sperm instead — without consent.
This has been happening for years, but surprisingly, because of gaps in laws around fertility fraud, these doctors aren’t necessarily considered criminals. This has been highlighted in a few documentaries and recent settlements.
[...] Many victims say this is sexual assault or rape since they didn’t consent to any of this, and the doctor had to perform a sexual act for all of this to happen. But the laws behind this make cases difficult to prosecute.
[...] "Doctors claim that they don't recall, you know, doing certain things, and so even the genetic test itself is not valid proof that, you know, for example, a rape occurred... Between the problems of proof and the passage of time, I think a lot of prosecutors have just been very reticent about bringing these types of charges."
[...] So far, 10 states have passed fertility fraud legislation. California was the first in 1996, the other nine states only started passing bills as recently as 2019.
"Largely, this is a... new social movement," Madeira said. "So for years, the donor-convinced community has been trying to draw attention to the perils that they fall into, sort of as a human rights matter. Now, here in America, we don't see donor conception as a human rights issue; we see it as a market issue. And so we allow the sperm banks, the fertility clinics, the intended parents to make choices for the donor-conceived siblings that they will never be able to reverse. For example, you know, they can choose to use an anonymous donor. In Europe, these choices are not available because the anonymity is a thing of the past."
[...] "The other thing that's really weird about this is you learn from your child that you were raped, basically.. so in what other crime do you learn that you are a victim of a crime through a technological mechanism that's promoted like a direct-to-consumer genetic test that you didn't even take?" Madeira said. "It's your child that took the test, and then your child has to break the news to you. And it's almost like you are roofied, you know, 30 years ago because you have no recollection." (MORE - missing details)