California Governor Jerry Brown yesterday signed a bill that updates assisted reproduction laws in ways that will help same- and different-sex couples as well as single parents to create and protect their families.
AB 960, which goes into effect on January 1, 2016, ensures that:
- If a woman conceives through assisted reproduction from a donor who is not her spouse, with the written consent of another intended parent and herself, that intended parent (say, her spouse or unmarried partner) is a legal parent;
- No longer does a doctor or sperm bank have to be involved when using assisted reproduction in order to ensure that the donor is not a parent (although the donor and the birth mother may choose to agree in writing if they want him to be a parent);
- A woman who donates an egg to someone not her spouse or partner is not a parent to the child created from the egg, unless the donor and the recipient intended the donor to be a parent.
The bill was authored by Assemblymember David Chiu and co-sponsored by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Equality California (EQCA), and Our Family Coalition (OFC).
California thus joins Washington, D.C., New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington State in recognizing legal ties to both intended parents for children born through assisted reproduction, regardless of the parents’ marital status. Same-sex parents are a big beneficiary of this, but so are unmarried different-sex couples. It’s a good day when something happens that helps so many families!