On
August
22,
2022,
Gov.
Gavin
Newsom
of
California
signed
AB-2495,
which
codifies
certain
embryo
donation
protocols
into
state
law.
Donors
Are
Just
Donors
Specifically,
the
new
Golden
State
law
promotes
embryo
donation
by
ensuring
that
donors
are
never
considered
the
legal
parents
of
children
that
are
born
from
their
donations.
For
instance,
Section
7613
of
the
Family
Code
now
includes:
(d) (1) A
provider
of
an
embryo
for
use
in
assisted
reproduction
to
an
intended
parent
who
is
not
the
provider’s
spouse
or
nonmarital
partner
is
treated
in
law
as
if
the
provider
is
not
the
natural
parent
of
a
child
thereby
conceived
unless
the
court
finds
satisfactory
evidence
that
the
provider
and
the
intended
parent
intended
for
the
provider
to
be
a
parent.
So,
unless
the
donor
really
means
to
be
a
parent,
California
law
is
now
clear
that
the
donors
of
donated
embryos
are
not
the
legal
parents
of
children
resulting
from
the
donated
embryos.
So
far,
there’s
not
much
controversy
on
this
idea.
Consent
Of
Egg
And
Sperm
Providers
Required
Another
new
section
to
the
Family
Code
provides
that:
(2) If
the
provider
of
ova,
semen,
or
embryos
is
not
the
original
source
of
the
ova
or
sperm,
each
original
provider’s
written
consent
to
the
donation
is
required
unless
that
person
has
executed
a
writing
to
consent,
waive,
or
relinquish
their
right
to
the
genetic
material,
or
as
otherwise
ordered
by
a
court
of
law.
This
provision
addresses
the
need
for
appropriate
consent
from
the original
providers
of
the
eggs
and
sperm
that
formed
the
embryos
for
donation.
Many
embryos
being
donated
are
formed
by
a
couple
who
used
their
own
eggs
and
sperm
with
in
vitro
fertilization
(IVF)
procedures
to
build
their
families
and
then
were
later
in
a
position
to
help
others
by
donating
their
remaining
embryos.
Other
embryos
for
donation,
by
contrast,
were
formed
with
the
assistance
of
an
egg
or
sperm
donor,
or
both,
where
the
now-embryo
donors
were
previously
recipients
in
an
egg
or
sperm
donation.
An
egg
or
sperm
donor
may
very
well
have
strong
feelings
about
their
reproductive
tissue
being
further
donated
from
the
original
recipients
to
others.
So
it
seems
appropriate
that
the
new
law
provides
clarity
that
the
original
sperm
and
egg
providers
should
necessarily
be
providing
consent.
Why
This,
Why
Now?
I
spoke
with
California
attorney
and
assisted
reproductive
law
specialist, Deborah
Wald
about
the
origin
of
the
bill.
Wald
is
the
president-elect
of
the
Academy
of
California
Adoption-ART
Lawyers
(ACAL),
the
force
behind
the
bill.
She
explained
that
ACAL
has
regularly
advocated
for
years,
with
success,
to
update
the
Family
Code
when
advances
in
technology
and
changes
in
family
formation
practices
merit
such
an
update.
Wald
and
ACAL
view
this
expansion
of
the
California
Family
Code
now
explicitly
including
embryo
donation,
in
addition
to
egg
and
sperm
donation,
as
a
natural
and
noncontroversial
update.
Wald
pointed
out
that
the
bill
was
carried
by
Assemblyperson
Jim
Patterson
and
received
bipartisan
and
unanimous
support.
Not
a
single
“Nay”
was
lodged
against
the
bill
at
any
point in
its
legislative
process.
More
Work
To
Be
Done
Wald
explained
that
the
new
law
is
a
good
starting
point.
Including
“embryos”
in
the
law
is
a
substantive
and
helpful
building
block
for
the
law
to
address
more
complicated
legal
issues
in
the
future.
Namely,
Wald
described
a
current,
reoccurring
issue
that
courts
have
struggled
with
—
the
question
of
what
to
do
when
there
are
multiple
claims
and
competing
interests
as
to
any
given
embryo.
Wald
mentioned
a
recent
case
that
she
worked
on
where
a
divorcing
couple
had
embryos,
but
no
children.
The
embryos
presented
the
only
possibility
of
a
genetically
linked
child
for
one
of
the
parties,
but
the
other
refused
consent
for
her
use
of
the
embryos.
Wald
explained
that
California
courts
have
routinely
acted
in
favor
of
the
party
wishing
not
to
reproduce
over
a
party
wishing
to
use
the
disputed
embryos
for
conception
purposes.
Congratulations,
California,
on
joining
the
short
list
of
states
to
update
their
laws
to
provide
specific
recognition
and
protection
for
a
common
family
building
practice.
Embryo
donors,
recipients,
and
the
resulting
children
are
each
a
little
more
protected
by
your
efforts.
Ellen
Trachman
is
the
Managing
Attorney
of Trachman
Law
Center,
LLC,
a
Denver-based
law
firm
specializing
in
assisted
reproductive
technology
law,
and
co-host
of
the
podcast I
Want
To
Put
A
Baby
In
You.
You
can
reach
her
at babies@abovethelaw.com.