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Woman Has Lost Right To Know Father
December 01, 2012 posted by Steve Brownstein
A woman who wanted to know the identity of her sperm-donor father is taking her case to Canada's top court after the B.C. Court of Appeal threw out an earlier decision that sided with her.
Olivia Pratten wanted offspring like herself to be treated the same as people who are adopted and argued that the B.C. government should change its laws accordingly.
But the appeal court ruled there is no legal right for offspring to know their past and providing such information would amount to state intrusion into many people's lives.
"It's very disappointing," Pratten said of the appeal court ruling.
"All we were asking for is the same benefits of adopted people. They've basically said, `No, you can't have that.' And they've basically said that it's OK for the government to discriminate. It's failing to protect the health and safety of donor-conceived people, that's what this court has done. We'll be appealing it to the Supreme Court of Canada."
The appeal court concluded that contrary to Pratten's argument, it is not her constitutional right to know her biological past.
"There are many non-donor offspring who do not know their family history or the identity of their biological father because of decisions taken by others, or because of the circumstances of their conception," Justice David Frankel said in the written ruling on behalf of the three judges.
"However desirable it may be that persons have access to information about their biological origins, Ms. Pratten has not established that such access has been recognized as so `fundamental' that it is entitled to independent constitutionally protected status under the Charter," the ruling said.
In May 2011, a B.C. Supreme Court judge agreed with Pratten, giving the province 15 months to amend its Adoption Act, saying people who are deprived of their genetic backgrounds suffer psychological harm.
Judge Elaine Adair also ordered a permanent injunction against the destruction of donor records, which can be disposed of in six years, but the B.C. government appealed the ruling.
