No matter the circumstances that lead to you either donating embryos or looking to use donated embryos to expand your family, it is helpful to know the embryo donation laws in Ohio. Whether you are looking to donate your embryos, dealing with infertility, or are a same sex couple, knowing the basic laws surrounding embryo donation is a great stepping stone as you start down this path. Can biological parent regain custody after adoption
Legal Rights and Responsibilities
When it comes to donating genetic material to help create a child and the donor is known (IE you have asked a person to donate their eggs or sperm), you are risking that the known donor could be seen as a parent under the state laws of Ohio. They may have legal rights and responsibilities to any child or children that are born as a result of their donation.
These legal rights and responsibilities in relation to embryo donation laws in Ohio can include:
- The right to request custody and visitation
- Financial support in the form of child support
- Payment of medical expenses
- Health Insurance
There are more potential rights and responsibilities, but these are just a few to keep in mind.
If you are looking to sever the parental rights of the known donor, there are a few things that the Ohio law of egg and sperm donor require:
- The donor must submit to a series of tests and give their medical history
- The insemination must be performed by a physician or someone who is under their supervision or control
This guarantees that if a pregnancy occurs and a child is born from a known donor’s donation, the parental rights have been severed. Otherwise, the parental rights have not been severed. This is where an Ohio egg and sperm donor agreement can come in handy. In relation to embryo donation laws in Ohio, having this agreement in place before the conception of a child protects all parties, including the known donor.
Juvenile Court in Ohio
A court to be aware of that handles embryo donation laws in Ohio is the Juvenile Court. This is a court of law and equity that will hear cases between unmarried parents in relation to their rights and responsibilities towards their children. This essentially means that the Juvenile Court will apply the law to any decisions they make while also looking at what is fair.
For example, if a donor signs the contract and waives their parental rights and later tries to bring forth a suit for parental rights, the Ohio egg and sperm donor agreement would be used to show the Juvenile Court that the suit is unfair and it would be unfair to grant the donor their rights back.
Additional Laws
A few additional embryo donation laws in Ohio to be aware of are:
- A woman who gives birth to a child as the result of embryo donation will be treated and regarded as the natural mother of said child.
- If a woman is married and gives birth to a child that is the result of embryo donation that her husband has consented to, he will be regarded as the natural father.
Additional laws get into more specifics, but these are a few to keep in mind as you start down the path of looking into embryo donation.
Embryo donation laws in Ohio can certainly be complex, depending on the situation. If you are looking to take steps to use a known donor or become a known donor, contact the Obenour Legal Group. We have years of experience in family law, adoption law, and egg and sperm donor law specifically.
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