# Would it be legal to sell your own sperm? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 15, 2010, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-legal-to-sell-your-own-sperm/553829 "2010-09-15T11:46:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-legal-to-sell-your-own-sperm/553829/21 "2010-09-17T03:11:11Z")
Well, trust me when I say I have no desire to search for the little bastards. Unless they’re wealthy, of course. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-legal-to-sell-your-own-sperm/553829/22 "2010-09-17T03:14:56Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Well, trust me when I say I have no desire to search for the little bastards. > > Unless they’re wealthy, of course. 😉 So we should keep an eye ot for people who come from Albequerque and look like a younger version of you, but are considerably better-dressed and drive flash cars? Right, so. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-legal-to-sell-your-own-sperm/553829/23 "2010-09-17T03:37:29Z")
Well, it wouldn’t take much to be better dressed than I am, so that’s no indication. But if they’re driving a flash car, please alert me right away. ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-legal-to-sell-your-own-sperm/553829/24 "2010-09-17T05:04:00Z")
Would it be legal to sell your own sperm? I’m shocked by the thought of all the cash that has slipped through my fingers over the years. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-legal-to-sell-your-own-sperm/553829/25 "2010-09-17T05:50:42Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > …The genetic relationship between you and your offspring is a concrete and objective fact which can have legal consequences that aren’t necessarily removed simply by agreement. Parent-child relationships in particular tend to have legal consequences that don’t disappear simply becasue of a unilateral decision by the parent… The statues governing sperm (& egg) donation via licences clinics tend to nullify the legal consequences that normally result from a parent-child relationship. For starters _there is no legal parent-child_ relationship that results from sperm/egg donation. The donor is not liable for any support, has no legal rights over the child, the child has no claim on the donor’s estate, and the donor has no legal right to know the child’s indentity (or even that a child exists). The donor _is not a parent_in the legal, social, or moral sense of the word. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-legal-to-sell-your-own-sperm/553829/26 "2010-09-17T09:39:15Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > The statues governing sperm (& egg) donation via licences clinics tend to nullify the legal consequences that normally result from a parent-child relationship . For starters _there is no legal parent-child_ relationship that results from sperm/egg donation. The donor is not liable for any support, has no legal rights over the child, the child has no claim on the donor’s estate, and the donor has no legal right to know the child’s indentity (or even that a child exists). The donor _is not a parent_in the legal, social, or moral sense of the word. You’re assuming that their _are_ “statutes governing sperm and egg donation”. Whether there are statutes, and exactly what they provide, depends on the jurisdiction in which **astro** ’s hypothetical transacction would occur. He’d need to check that. He might find, for instance, that the various protection you mention, or something like them, are avaiable if a _licensed_ clinic is used, but not in his suggested freelance arrangement. The other think he needs to bear in mind is the (admittedly unquantifiable, hopefully small, but certainly real) risk that the laws might be altered in the future - much as adoption laws were in some jurisdictions. You say that the donor “is not a parent . . . in the moral sense of the word” and of course I take your point, but socially-accepted moral views, and moral consensuses, can and do change over time and, if there is such a shift, then a change in the law could well follow, recognising a right on the part of the child that we currently do not recognise, or do not accord much weight to. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-legal-to-sell-your-own-sperm/553829/27 "2010-09-17T11:42:57Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Let’s say you’re a virtual uber-man. Handsome, physically perfect, mentally gifted, snappy dresser etc. Women want you, men want to be you. > > You are approached by an entrepreneur who has unique business proposition. For a reasonable commission he will broker your super sperm to interested women who want your genome. There will be no physical interaction, it will all be via artificial insemination. They recipients will sign legal waivers etc. agreeing not to sue you for paternity. > > Are there any laws or practical obstacles standing in the way of this cunning plan? Wasn’t there a doctor about 20 years ago who was supposed to use sperm bank sources for artificial insemination of his patients, instead provided his own home-made product? IIRC they figure he accounted for almost 60 kids. I think he was charged with fraud because he billed his patients for sperm-bank fees. The article never mentioned paternity obligations. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-legal-to-sell-your-own-sperm/553829/28 "2010-09-17T15:30:27Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > > [@alphaboi867](#): > > > > The statues governing sperm (& egg) donation via licences clinics tend to nullify the legal consequences that normally result from a parent-child relationship . For starters _there is no legal parent-child_ relationship that results from sperm/egg donation. The donor is not liable for any support, has no legal rights over the child, the child has no claim on the donor’s estate, and the donor has no legal right to know the child’s indentity (or even that a child exists). The donor _is not a parent_in the legal, social, or moral sense of the word. > > You’re assuming that their _are_ “statutes governing sperm and egg donation”. Whether there are statutes, and exactly what they provide, depends on the jurisdiction in which **astro** ’s hypothetical transacction would occur. He’d need to check that. He might find, for instance, that the various protection you mention, or something like them, are avaiable if a _licensed_ clinic is used, but not in his suggested freelance arrangement. > > The other think he needs to bear in mind is the (admittedly unquantifiable, hopefully small, but certainly real) risk that the laws might be altered in the future - much as adoption laws were in some jurisdictions. You say that the donor “is not a parent . . . in the moral sense of the word” and of course I take your point, but socially-accepted moral views, and moral consensuses, can and do change over time and, if there is such a shift, then a change in the law could well follow, recognising a right on the part of the child that we currently do not recognise, or do not accord much weight to. Our egg donor went through a licensed agency, and as part of that she signed a contract saying she was relinquishing all rights and responsibilities of parenthood. I can live with the infinitesimal risk that such contracts will not prove valid sometime in the future AND that our particular donor will want to invalidate it. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-legal-to-sell-your-own-sperm/553829/29 "2010-09-17T15:58:02Z")
And presumably this was done in a jurisdiction in which such a contract is enforceable, and the contract conformed to whatever conditions it had to conform to in that jurisdiction. And, like you, the donor considered the risk that the laws might change, and that you might want to revisit the arrangement, or that your child, when he or she is old enough, might not regard themselves as bound by the arrangement. The point is, these are real issues. They need to be acknowledged, and they need to be addressed. You did that. Fine. **Astro** would need to do that too, is all I’m saying. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-legal-to-sell-your-own-sperm/553829/30 "2010-09-17T16:33:14Z")
> [@astro](#): > > You are approached by an entrepreneur who has unique business proposition. For a reasonable commission he will broker your super sperm to interested women who want your genome. There will be no physical interaction, it will all be via artificial insemination. They recipients will sign legal waivers etc. agreeing not to sue you for paternity. Maybe I missed it, but I’m surprised that this thread has gone this long without a mention of the [Repository for Germinal Choice](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repository_for_Germinal_Choice), commonly (if misleadingly) known as the “Nobel laureate sperm bank”. It operated from about 1980 until 1997. In 2001, [Slate published a long series of articles](http://www.slate.com/id/100155/year/2001/landing/1/) on the subject, which make for some pretty good reading. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-legal-to-sell-your-own-sperm/553829/31 "2010-09-17T16:51:30Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > And presumably this was done in a jurisdiction in which such a contract is enforceable, and the contract conformed to whatever conditions it had to conform to in that jurisdiction. And, like you, the donor considered the risk that the laws might change, and that you might want to revisit the arrangement, or that your child, when he or she is old enough, might not regard themselves as bound by the arrangement. > > The point is, these are real issues. They need to be acknowledged, and they need to be addressed. You did that. Fine. **Astro** would need to do that too, is all I’m saying. I guess we pretty much agree on the bottom line, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Chris\_Luongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Chris\_Luongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chris_Luongo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-legal-to-sell-your-own-sperm/553829/32 "2010-09-17T18:02:44Z")
Well, the [Seattle Sperm Bank](http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=1258865353459987848&q=seattle+sperm+bank+review&hl=en&gl=us&view=feature&mcsrc=detailed_reviews&num=10&start=0&ved=0CIgBELUF&sa=X&ei=nqyTTMvGL4LezATottnzBA) seems to have great reviews. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2010, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-legal-to-sell-your-own-sperm/553829/33 "2010-09-18T08:59:02Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > > [@astro](#): > > > > Let’s say you’re a virtual uber-man. Handsome, physically perfect, mentally gifted, snappy dresser etc. Women want you, men want to be you. > > > > You are approached by an entrepreneur who has unique business proposition. For a reasonable commission he will broker your super sperm to interested women who want your genome. There will be no physical interaction, it will all be via artificial insemination. They recipients will sign legal waivers etc. agreeing not to sue you for paternity. > > > > Are there any laws or practical obstacles standing in the way of this cunning plan? > > Wasn’t there a doctor about 20 years ago who was supposed to use sperm bank sources for artificial insemination of his patients, instead provided his own home-made product? IIRC they figure he accounted for almost 60 kids. I think he was charged with fraud because he billed his patients for sperm-bank fees. The article never mentioned paternity obligations. Here [Cecil Jacobson -](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Jacobson) [and here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=110712) > [@](#): > > The Jacobson case was complicated. IIRC at the time the case was a bit of an embarrassment to the Mormon Church since Jacobson was a Mormon and some people (unfairly) connected his behavior to Church of LDS scriptural or doctrinal exhortations to to be fecund, which is common to practically all religions (except maybe the Shakers) . > > Jacobson was also all about quality control apparently > Quote: > (Dr. Cecil B. Jacobson, Chief of the Reproductive Genetics Unit, George Washington University Hospital, quoted in _Psychology Today_, Sep. 1975, p.22) “I can’t imagine any reasonably responsible person arguing against the abortion of mongols … If we could tell what fetuses are going to be affected with cancer in their 40s and 50s, I would be for aborting them > now.” > > Here is a interesting cite for the legal case and arguments his malpractice insurers made that they should not have to pay for his actions. Here’s just a liitle bit of it. > > > [@](#): > > > > Quote: > > UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT > > No. 93-1986 > > > > ST. PAUL FIRE & MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff- Appellant, > > v. > > CECIL B. JACOBSON, JR.; > > REPRODUCTIVE GENETICS CENTER, LIMITED, > > > > Defendants- Appellees. > > Appeal from the United States District Court > > for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. > > T. S. Ellis, III, District Judge. > > > > Pursuant to various reapplications and renewals, Jacobson has held a physicians’ professional liability policy with St. Paul Fire and > > Marine Insurance Company during all times relevant to this action. Under the terms of the policy, St. Paul agreed to defend Jacobson and pay damages in any suits “resulting from . . .[the] providing or withholding of professional services.” Jacobson requested that St. Paul defend the pending civil suits described above. In response, St. Paul filed its complaint for rescission or declaratory relief, claiming that St. Paul had no obligation to defend the pending civil suits and was not responsible for any recovery. St. Paul argued that rescission was required because Jacobson’s 1986 insurance application contained materially false representations in that he had not disclosed his fraudulent insemination activities, which began as early as 1976, in response to Question #39 or otherwise. St. Paul also argued that Jacobson’s intentional and fraudulent use of his own sperm to inseminate patients was not a “professional service” and thus was not covered under the policy. Lastly, St. Paul contended that Virginia’s public policy precluded insuring a wrongdoer against the consequences of his intentional, fraudulent, illegal acts. Both parties moved for summary judgment. The district court denied St. Paul’s motion and granted summary judgment for Jacobson because it concluded that St. Paul could not escape responsibility for defending Jacobson under any of its three arguments. > > etc etc etc [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-legal-to-sell-your-own-sperm/553829.md?page=1)