Sperm donation laws can lead to untold heartache – for both donors and recipients

Today there are men in Victoria who may be dreading a very uncomfortable knock on the door.

Because when they come into effect early next year, new laws passed recently by state parliament will see all donor-conceived children given access to identifying information about their donor – even if the man donated his sperm on the assurance of anonymity.

The new laws reflect the growing consensus of experts that everyone has the right to know where they came from, for medical reasons and to assist with the development of a sense of self.

It’s also clear that in the minds of our lawmakers, a child’s right to know its biological heritage trumps any right to donor privacy.

The changes to the law could mean reneging on the promise of anonymity, and that, according to some commentators, is opening the door to some very bad scenarios.

But will the disaster scenarios predicted by commentators be realised?

Read Margaret Ambrose's article in the Guardian.