Toronto woman suffers setback in effort to find identity of sperm-donor father

TORONTO, Ont. – A Toronto woman is taking her case to Canada’s top court, after suffering a setback in her efforts to find the identity of her sperm donor father.

Just recently, the BC Court of Appeal threw out an earlier decision which sided with Olivia Pratten, who said she wanted offspring like herself to be treated the same as those who are adopted.

She argued that B.C.’s government should change its laws accordingly, but the appeal court ruled there is no legal right for offspring to know their past. Moreover, providing such information would amount to state intrusion into many people’s lives.

Pratten was born in Nanaimo, B.C., in 1982, with her mother using sperm from an anonymous donor. After spending a decade trying to learn her biological father’s identity, her parents’ fertility specialist destroyed the records in keeping with the rules.

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