Egg or sperm donor has no legal right on child: Bombay HC
- The Bombay High Court recently held that merely donating eggs or sperm does not give legal entitlement to the donor to claim that she is the biological parent of the child.
Highlights:
- The Bench was hearing a plea filed by a woman (petitioner) who challenged a trial Court order that refused to give her visitation rights and access to her twin daughters born through surrogacy.
- The single Bench judge, dismissed an argument of a woman (petitioner’s sister), who had volunteered to donate her oocyte (eggs) for her sister and brother-in-law who couldn’t conceive naturally and said the sister had no legitimate right to claim that she was the biological parent of the twins.
- The Judge referred to the National Guidelines for Accreditation, Supervision, and Regulation of ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) clinics in India, enacted in 2005,
- A case must be decided by law, rather applicable laws no matter how disagreeable and painful the decision or direction of the Court may be.
Prelims Takeaway
- Surrogacy
- Regulation of ART