ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION - CALIFORNIA LAW

Artificial insemination (also called donor insemination) is a procedure by which a woman is impregnated by a means other than sexual intercourse. If the semen came from her husband (called homologous artificial insemination), the father is treated the same as any other father of a child conceived during the marriage.

If a woman is married, and the semen came from a man other than her husband (called artificial insemination by donor or heterologous artificial insemination), the husband is treated as if he were the natural father of the child only if he consented in writing to the insemination, and the insemination was performed under the supervision of a licensed physician. (Fam. Code § 7613.) He has all the rights and responsibilities of fatherhood, including the duty to support the child. (Pen. Code § 270.)

If an unmarried woman is inseminated under the supervision of a physician, the semen donor is not considered the father of the child. Donors who provide semen to licensed physicians for use in artificial insemination of a woman other than the donor's wife have no parental rights. (Fam. Code § 7613.) However, if a woman is inseminated without a physician's help and the donor asserts his fatherhood, he is entitled to full parental rights and responsibilities. (Jhordan C. v. Mary K., 179 Cal. App. 3d 386 (1986).)

Nolo's Guide to California Law