Child support is a legal means of holding people accountable for their progeny. People who do not live with their children full-time sometimes need to provide financial support for their children until they become legal adults.
Child support can consume a significant portion of an individual’s disposable income and can put pressure on their budget for nearly two decades. Frequently, unmarried parents and divorced parents have to pay child support.
Do people who serve as egg donors or sperm donors for assisted reproduction need to worry about financial support obligations?
The law protects donors
Medically-assisted reproduction is not a new area of medicine. The law has had many years to catch up with advances in modern technology. As such, there are already clear statutes in place governing the legal rights and responsibilities of people who donate eggs or sperm for medically-assisted reproduction. State statutes protect donors from legal and financial liability.
Typically, the donation process involves legal paperwork. Donors give up their parental rights when they sign documents with the medical clinic where they donate, meaning they cannot seek custody or visitation in most cases.
They also secure protection from child support obligations and other parental responsibilities. People who have desirable genetic traits may find that there is demand for their gametes in the world of assisted reproduction, and they shouldn’t let support concerns deter them from donating.
People considering acting as egg or sperm donors may need to learn about what the process entails so that they feel more comfortable. Donating gametes for assisted reproduction typically does not result in financial or parental responsibilities for a donor, thanks to protections enshrined in state law and in the contracts that donors sign.