The Role of Birth Certificates in Relation to Access to Biographical and Genetic History in Donor Conception

Abstract

In 1984, among its recommendations for the regulation of assisted conception services in the UK, the Warnock Committee proposed that the birth certifi cate of a donor-conceived person should record the fact of donor conception. While this proposal was never implemented, over twenty years later, a Joint Committee of the House of Lords and House of Commons recommended the use of birth certifi cates as a means of enabling donor-conceived persons to learn the nature of their conception. In response, the Government has committed to review the role of birth certifi cates. Th is paper represents an initial contribution to this exercise. It provides an overview of the legislative, policy and practice context of disclosure of donor conception, outlines arguments against and in favour of potential changes to birth certifi cates, and describes and critiques current propositions for revising birth certifi cation. Th e paper concludes that there is a case for revising birth certifi cates and outlines a workable model to promote disclosure without compromising privacy concerns.

‘Our story with the state’: Birth certificates, data structures and gay and lesbian families

“…The birth certificate also has several societal and individual benefits for parents. Blyth et al (2009) explored how the birth certificate served as a way of granting parental rights to parents on the physical birth certificate and in particular, they note how donor conception needs to be documented in the birth certificate in some way. Clapton's (2014) research has focused on how aspects of parentage on the birth certificate needs to be revised, especially pertaining to how 'unknown fathers' are documented.…”

“…What is evident from this study, is that a data for queer lives approach to how data is gathered from birth certificates, and how birth certificates are designed as a data gathering mechanism, needs to undergo significant transformation regarding the diversification of family structures, particularly as it relates to LGBTQ families, especially in terms of recognizing same-sex parents. Most previous research has focused on the birth certificate from the perspective of national contexts (Jewkes and Wood, 1998) or conferring parental rights (Blyth et al, 2009), but much of the research overlooks the perspective of parents, particularly LGBTQ parents. As Blyth et al (2009) note, birth certificates have many duties and the arguments relating to changes to the document often stem from individuals and how they hierarchize or prioritize different parts of the birth certificate.…”

“…Most previous research has focused on the birth certificate from the perspective of national contexts (Jewkes and Wood, 1998) or conferring parental rights (Blyth et al, 2009), but much of the research overlooks the perspective of parents, particularly LGBTQ parents. As Blyth et al (2009) note, birth certificates have many duties and the arguments relating to changes to the document often stem from individuals and how they hierarchize or prioritize different parts of the birth certificate. This was also present in our findings which discussed parental perception.…”

The right to know one’s genetic origins and cross-border medically assisted reproduction

“…While disclosure of the circumstances of conception is recommended by professional societies [2], birth certificates do not indicate the involvement of a third-party [6, 21]. Disclosure therefore remains the prerogative of parents.…”

“…This solution, however, is still seen by many as controversial, as it would “compromise the privacy of donor-conceived individuals and/or that of their parents” [6] and would intrude into the intricate fabric of family dynamics. A more acceptable approach is to endorse a culture of openness and acceptance, to enhance educational efforts and to encourage parents to disclose by providing them with counselling and tools [2].…”