Donor conception, direct-to-consumer genetic testing, choices and the role of law

Description

In the 1980s, when legislation to guarantee gamete donor anonymity was first discussed in the UK, it was considered that anonymity would protect donors and the recipient couples from legal complications as well as from the emotional difficulties of ‘introducing a third party into what ought to be an exclusive relationship’ (noting that, at that time, only hetero-sexual couples were entitled to access assisted conception services). Over four decades later, elements of gamete donor anonymity (such as prohibiting access to information during childhood) remain a feature of the regulation of donor conception in the UK, as well as in many other jurisdictions, although cultural values have changed dramatically.

The existence and affordability of direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTCGT) now offers donors and the donor-conceived community the means to circumvent legal frameworks guaranteeing anonymity. Findings from the ConnecteDNA research project show that DTCGT has shifted knowledge about donor conception - who knows, who does not know, and how they know. Donor-conceived people have discovered the method of their conception through DTCGT, and it has enabled some people that were unknown to each other, but connected through donor conception, to identify and sometimes contact one another. Such events can be associated with psychological distress and disruption to family relationships.

As a result of DTCGT, many people affected by donor conception, now find themselves with choices to make, sometimes experienced as moral dilemmas, about whether or, for parents of donor-conceived children, when to search for donor relatives. Using DTCGT to search means people have no access to counselling or psychological support. In this paper, using therapeutic jurisprudence as an analytic framework for our qualitative data, we ask how law reform in this area should be approached, and whether the promotion of positive therapeutic effects and ‘wellbeing’ should be a focus of the legal system.

Period	5 Jun 2024
Event title	17th World Congress of Bioethics
Event type	Conference
Location	Doha, QatarShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International