AB 960: Parentage: assisted reproduction.

Existing law provides that the spouse of a woman who conceives through assisted reproduction with semen donated by a man not her husband is treated as if he or she were the natural parent of the child. Existing law further provides that the donor of semen provided to a licensed physician or to a licensed sperm bank for use in artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization of a woman other than the donors wife is treated as if he were not the natural father of the child.

This bill would provide that the donor of semen provided to a licensed physician and surgeon or to a licensed sperm bank for use in assisted reproduction is treated as if he were not the natural parent of the child unless otherwise agreed to in a writing signed by the donor and woman prior to the conception of the child. The bill would also provide, if the semen is not provided to a licensed physician and surgeon or a licensed sperm bank, that the donor of semen for use in assisted reproduction by a woman other than the donors spouse is treated in law as if he were not the natural parent of the child if either the donor and the woman agreed in a writing prior to conception that the donor would not be a parent or a court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the child was conceived through assisted reproduction and that, prior to the conception of the child, the woman and the donor had an oral agreement that the donor would not be a parent. The bill would provide that the donor of ova for use in assisted reproduction is treated as if she were not the natural parent of a child thereby conceived unless the court finds satisfactory evidence that the donor and the woman intended for the donor to be a parent.

This bill would also create a new form for assisted reproduction that would provide clarity regarding a persons intent to be a legal parent if he or she is using assisted reproduction that results in a child at the time of conception from a known sperm or ova donor. The bill would also state that the use of this form, if signed prior to the conception of a child, is presumed to satisfy the writing requirement described above.