Durban - A generation of donor-conceived children in South Africa are heading for the age of majority – and will soon be asking questions about their “genetic parents”.
Reasons for wanting to know one’s genetic history range from health reasons to emotional impacts on children wanting to know their “real” parents. There is a chance of potentially starting a relationship with a person related to one without realising it.
But under South Africa law today, attempts to find out who their genetic parents are will be stonewalled.
“They don’t even have the same rights as adopted children. And this needs to change,” warned Varsity College law expert Rani Pillay this week at a law teachers’ conference in Durban.
She said previously her research had been on the development of the law giving donor-conceived children “the right of knowledge of the fact” that their birth was a result of gametes (donor sperm or eggs).
In keeping with international trends, she was now focusing on “who in the world” their parents were and their rights to identifying information.
There were many reasons for this, including the risk of “inadvertent disclosure” because of the advances in human genetics and the accessibility of full-scale genetic testing.
“The implications of this, emotionally and psychologically, are obvious … planned disclosure even at an early stage is preferable and, with international legal reform, there is an expanding discourse which favours openness.
“This is supported through theoretical studies but also studies with adopted children.”
She said the UN Convention on the Right of the Child – to which South Africa was a signatory – had been used as the basis for law change in Australia and Switzerland and “we are under an obligation to align our own laws”.
“At first glance, our laws seem progressive, but, in fact, we lag far behind because the child concerned, while entitled at 18 (or under special circumstances younger) to have biographical and medical information, they are not entitled to have any identifying information as adopted children are.
“And this trend towards secrecy is reinforced in the regulations to the National Health Act which states that no person shall disclose the identity of a person who donates a gamete except if a court authorises it.
“South African law is in its infancy … there is no legislation that allows disclosure and we have no test cases yet because we have no donor children who are 18.
“But overseas it is happening fast and we should prepare for it.”
She said in Australia, New Zealand, England and Norway donor anonymity had been abolished completely. In Iceland, Portugal and Belgium, donors were given the choice. In Australia and England the law was so advanced that it allowed for the identification of possible siblings and “donor genetic” grandparents.
“The family, as we know it, is changing. And these law changes have been made possible because of public opinion.
“There have been arguments that abolishing confidentiality results in an adverse supply, particularly of sperm. ”
Pillay said in South Africa the status of a donor was “settled” and he or she was not considered a parent.
Any law reform could only apply to cases going forward because of contractual and privacy issues, but a voluntary register could be established for existing donors who wished to be identified.
Approached for comment, Durban psychologist Francois de Marigny said focusing on the best interests of the child, children should have the right to know the identities of the gamete donors, as children did in adoption cases.
“I have seen in my years of practice adopted children who, despite having had loving and competent adoptive parents, had a deep sense of needing to know their biological parents … I can definitely see similar issues arising from children of donor gametes.
“The cons of disclosing the gamete donor’s identity is more to protect the donor 18 years down the line … It would be in the child’s interests if all donor candidates agreed to disclosure of their identities down the line should the child so request it,’ he said.
The Mercury