Thursday, November 13, 2008 Katherine Dedyna, Canwest News Service
VICTORIA - The B.C. woman who's fighting for the records of her biological father - a medical student sperm donor - says filing a lawsuit is the "last and only thing left to do to protect this vital information."
Olivia Pratten, a 26-year-old broadcast journalist now based in New York, is engaged in a public fight at the B.C. Supreme Court to find out about her biological father.
"Not knowing my biological roots is a big loss for me and is something I've had to grieve," she says in an e-mail. "I just want to know where I came from so that I can know my place on the human tree."
Pratten was born in 1982 after her mother visited Vancouver fertility practitioner Dr. Gerald Korn. Her parents back their daughter in her court battle to keep B.C. donor records from being destroyed after six years.
Thanks to Pratten's challenge, Chief Justice Donald Brenner issued a temporary injunction on Oct. 28 ordering all fertility doctors to keep their donor records.
Her proposed class-action lawsuit names the attorney general of B.C. as discriminating against people born of sperm or egg donation because provincial law now gives adoptees the right to learn about their biological parents.
The discrepancy also violates the equality provisions of the Charter of Rights, argues Victoria lawyer Sean Hern, who is co-counsel in the case. The province has not yet filed a response and has no comment on the case.
Adoption Council of Canada president Sandra Scarth says a non-contact registry might be in order for long-ago donors who expected anonymity, similar to the one for people adopted before the 1996 B.C. Adoption Act. But from now on, identities for sperm and egg donors should be the rule once the child reaches the age of majority.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. is cited in Pratten's statement of claim because it has allowed doctors to shred donor information after six years. The college did not oppose the temporary injunction forbidding destruction, but spokesman Dr. Doug Blackman had no further comment.
According to Pratten's statement of claim, when she approached Korn about her biological father, he informed her that he was "a Caucasian medical student, who had a stocky build, brown hair, blue eyes, and Type A blood, and was 'healthy,' according to a verbal medical interview."
Korn refused to reveal the donor's identity because he had been promised anonymity. He also refused to assure Pratten that he would preserve his donor records indefinitely. The college declined Pratten's request to take custody of the records.
As far as Hern knows, this is the only such class-action suit in the world and would extend to anyone conceived in B.C. as a result of donated sperm or eggs. He has already had calls from people who want to be included.
Other countries, including Sweden and the United Kingdom , have rescinded donor anonymity without lawsuits.
Nobody knows how many people born of donor gametes there are. Estimates range from 4,000 to 40,000 for Canada .
The province and the college have until Dec. 28 to file a response. After that, Hern will seek certification to continue as a class-action suit. If the court agrees, a trial would begin as soon as a year. |
