Oregon Donor Insemination Law
Oregon law explicitly removes a donor’s legal relationship to a child conceived via donor insemination. Courts have upheld agreements between known donors and recipients that curtailed the donors’ parental rights.
The law provides that a donor shall not be treated or regarded as the natural father of a child conceived as a result of artificial insemination. The law requires that a physician select the donor and perform the procedure after obtaining the woman’s written consent.
Cases Dealing with Donor Insemination
In one 1994 case, Leckie v. Voorhies, Leckie donated semen for the insemination of Voorhies, so she and her partner could raise a child. The parties signed a written agreement, which in part stated that Leckie would be “a good male role model” but not the child’s father. After the child’s birth, Voorhies allowed Leckie significant visitation. Subsequent disputes caused the parties to resign the agreement with the added provision of some minimal visitation for Leckie. Still unsatisfied, Leckie sought an “order of filiation,” or a judicial determination of paternity. The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s finding that Leckie had expressly and effectively waived his parental rights in the agreement.
In a 1989 case, McIntyre v. Crouch, McIntyre, an acquaintance of Crouch, donated semen with which she inseminated herself without physician supervision. The parties dispute whether they agreed to any involvement by McIntyre in the resulting child’s life. McIntyre argued that the state law stripping him of parental rights as a “donor” did not apply because (1) he was acquainted with Crouch and thus not a donor, and (2) he provided semen because he believed he would have parental involvement with the child. The Court of Appeals found that this situation fell under the domain of the artificial insemination law. The court reasoned it would be “inconsistent with the purposes of the law if a donor were not barred simply because he was known to the mother.” The court also asserted that the statute would bar McIntyre from establishing paternity even if he had provided semen pursuant to an agreement with Crouch granting him parental rights. However, the court concluded that such an application of the statute would violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The court remanded to determine whether an agreement existed between the parties. Appeals to the Oregon and U.S. Supreme Courts were both denied.
Citations: OR. REV. STAT. §§ 109.236, 677.360; Leckie v. Voorhies, 128 Or. App. 289, 875 P.2d 521 (Or. Ct. App. 1994); McIntyre v. Crouch, 98 Or. App. 462, 780 P.2d 239 (Or. Ct. App. 1989).
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Last Updated: 8/30/2004