Can sperm donors sign their rights away to being fathers?

California legislators are hoping to make resolving the tricky issue of parental rights as easy as filling out a form. Want to make sure a sperm donor can’t claim to be a father? Check here. And vice versa. Or at least that’s the hope of the “Modern Family Act.” But can you really check a box to sign away your rights to a child? Perhaps, but it’s probably not going to be that easy. These days, the increasing prevalence of sperm donors, egg donors and even surrogate mothers often result in thorny legal battles over who is really the parent. The bill, introduced by San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D), was inspired in part by the high-profile legal battle involving “Lost Boys” actor Jason Patric, who helped a former girlfriend have a child through artificial insemination, using his sperm. The problems is: Patric claims to have developed a father-like relationship with the boy, and he wants parental rights to the child. Last week, a California appeals court upheld his ability to claim those rights. The bad news for people like Patric’s former girlfriend, Danielle Schreiber, is that California’s new proposed law might not actually have changed the outcome of this case, according to Georgetown Law Professor Jeffrey Shulman. “The bottom line is that a written agreement still may not work if the sperm donor is encouraged to form a parent-like relationship with the child,” Shulman said. “There are constitutional law issues, federal constitutional law issues and a line of cases that grant biological fathers right to their children if they have acted like fathers.” Carlos Alcala, a spokesman for Ammiano, says that the bill isn’t intended to resolve all parental rights questions, but it might prevent some painful legal battles in many cases. Article: 20th May 2014 www.washingtonpost.com Read more about being a known sperm donor at www.prideangel.com

Times magazine to do a new feature on fatherhood, can you help?

The Times Magazine is planning a big feature on the new faces of fatherhood and really wants to get in touch with men who have been known donors - possibly for friends or for a couple/person they have met online - or who are co-parenting in some way. The idea is to celebrate alternative ideas of fatherhood and what constitutes a modern family, and to explore how individuals make it work for them. We are looking for six men who have been known donors, perhaps with varying degrees of contact with the child (from none to sporadic, right up to daily) who are happy to be interviewed (phone is fine if preferred) and to attend a photoshoot at a date convenient for them (travel expenses paid if applicable; children won't be photographed). We'd be guided by them about what they are most happy to talk about, but topics covered might include: why they decided to be a known donor, how long had they known the couple/person, did they have a written agreement, what are the positives for them - are they what they expected, what kind of relationship do they have with the child and with the mother/parents, has the experience changed them, what advice would they have for others planning something similar. It's a great opportunity to inform a wide readership of the positives of alternative families, and we're really hoping people out there will agree and contact us. Many thanks for your time and best wishes to all. If you think you can help, then please contact us at Pride Angel and we will give you more information.