The Right to Know One's Origins: Assisted Human Reproduction and the Best Interests of Children

Focusing on children’s interests, this edited volume takes an unflinching look at the practice of third-party human reproduction from the perspective of the child created. By investigating the problem of secrecy about a child’s donor, conception, and anonymity regarding the donor, this account proposes reasonable solutions for legislators. With comments from donor-conceived people who have been denied easy access to an accurate record of their parentage, this book contains chapters examining the history of the practice, its governance by medical ethics codes, and its relationship to adoption. It also considers the effect on a child’s health and well-being and concludes that secrecy and anonymity almost certainly provide no benefit to children and that no ethical theory can justify these practices.