Papa's Baby

Paternity and Artificial Insemination

Browne C. Lewis

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780814738481
• eBook ISBN: 9780814752609
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Family Law
• Index: Law

When a child is conceived from sexual intercourse between a married, heterosexual couple, the child has a legal father and mother. Whatever may happen thereafter, the child's parents are legally bound to provide for their child, and if they don't, they're held accountable by law. But what about children created by artificial insemination? When it comes to paternity, the law is full of gray areas, resulting in many cases where children have no legal fathers. In Papa's Baby, Browne C. Lewis argues that the courts should take steps to insure that all children have at least two legal parents. Additionally, state legislatures should recognize that more than one class of fathers may exist and allocate paternal responsibility based, again, upon the best interest of the child. Lewis supplements her argument with concrete methods for dealing with different types of cases, including anonymous and non-anonymous sperm donors, married and unmarried women, and lesbian couples. In so doing, she first establishes different types of paternity, and then draws on these to create an expanded definition of paternity.

Notes

INTRODUCTION

1. This is a reference to the title of a Michael Jackson song.

2. Anonymous v. Anonymous, 1991 WL 57753 (N.Y. Sup.) at 2.

3. John A. Gibbons, Who’s Your Daddy? A Constitutional Analysis of Post-Mortem Insemination, 14 J. Contemp. Health L. & Pol’y 187, 192 (Fall 1997).

4. Marla J. Hollandsworth, Gay Men Creating Families through Surro-Gay Arrangements: A Paradigm for Reproductive Freedom, 3 Am. U. J. Gender & L. 183, 204 (Spring 1995).

5. Sheri Gilbert, Fatherhood from the Grave: An Analysis of Postmortem Insemination, 22 Hofstra L. Rev. 521, 526–527 (Winter 1993).

6. Barbara K. Padgett, Illegitimate Children Conceived by Artificial Insemination: Does Some State Legislation Deny Them Equal Protection Under the Fourteenth Amendment? U. Louisville J. Fam. L. 511,516–-517 (1993–1994).

7. Cindy L. Steeb, A Child Conceived after His Father’s Death? Posthumous Reproduction and Inheritance Rights: An Analysis of Ohio Statutes 48 Clev. St. L. Rev. 137, 140 (2000).

8. Id.

9. Inseminating a woman with the sperm of a man who was not her husband was highly controversial. Sandi Varnado, Who’s Your Daddy? A Legitimate Question Given Louisiana’s Lack of Legislation Governing Assisted Reproductive Technology, 66 La. L. Rev. 609, 615–616 (Winter 2006).

10. Karin Mika & Bonnie Hurst, One Way to Be Born? Legislative Inaction and the Post-humous Child, 79 Marq. L. Rev. 993, 997 (Summer 1996).

11. Janet J. Berry, Life after Death: Preservation of the Immortal Seed, 72 Tul. L. Rev. 231, 236 (Nov. 1997).

12. Barack Obama, “We Need Fathers to Step Up,” http://www.parade.com/news/2009 (June 21, 2009).

13. http:www.brainyquote.com (last visited Jan. 31, 2011).

14. http:www.allgreatquotes.com/father-day quotes (last visited Feb. 2, 2011).

15. China A. Rosas, A Necessary Compromise: Recognizing the Rights of a Donated Generation to Tame the Wild Wild West of California’s Sperm Banking Industry, 37 Sw. U. L. Rev. 393 (2008).

16. Scott J. Shackelford & Lawrence M. Friedman, Legally Incompetent: A Research Note, 49 Am. J. Legal Hist. 321, 321 (July 2007).

17. http://www.history.com/topics/father-day (last visited Feb. 10, 2011).

18. An unwed father is a man who has a child with an unmarried woman.

19. See e.g., Thurnwald v. A.E., 163 P.3d 623 (Utah 2007); In re Cassidy Y.Y., 802 N.Y.S. 2d 520 (N.Y.A.D. 3 Dept. 2005); Doe v. Roe, 631 S.E. 2d 317 (S.C. App. 2006); see also Toni L. Craig, Establishing the Biological Rights Doctrine to Protect Unwed Fathers in Contested Adoptions, 25 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 391, 408–409 (Winter 1998).

20. Katherine L. Tyler, International Custody Battles: The Not So Curious Case of David Goldman, 12 J. L. & Fam. Stud. 533, 533 (2010).

21. Mariano Castillo, Childless Man Freed after Serving Time for Child Support Violations, http://www.articles.cnn.com (July 15, 2009).

22. http://www.brainyquote.com (last visited Feb. 11, 2011).

23. Tiffany J. Jones, Neglected by the System: A Call for Equal Treatment For Incarcerated Fathers and Their Children—Will Father Absenteeism Perpetuate the Cycle of Criminality? 39 Cal. W.-L. Rev. 87, 97–99 (Fall 2002) (discussing the negative impacts of father absenteeism).

24. Linda C. McClain, “Irresponsible” Reproduction, 47 Hastings L. J. 339, 387–388 (Jan. 1996). see also Julia M. Fisher, Book Review: Marriage Promotion Policies and the Working Poor: A Match Made in Heaven? 25 B. C. Third World L. J. 475, 479–483...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• I. Children Of Passion (Papa’s Baby)
• II. Children of Science (Papa’s Maybe)
• III. Redefining the Family
• IV. Rethinking Paternity Adjudication in the Best Interests of the Child
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Index
• About the Author