Secrecy, anonymity, and deception in donor insemination: a genetic, psycho-social and ethical critique

The number of medically assisted conceptions involving donors is increasing. At the same time, due to advances in medicine, greater emphasis has been placed on an individual's genetic origins. This trend places individuals who have no access to information on their genetic origins in a vulnerable position. Because of the secrecy and anonymity that has surrounded donor inseminations, many individuals who were so conceived are irreversibly cut off from any possible contact with or even knowledge about their genetic fathers, who will also never have the opportunity to meet their offspring. In view of the accumulated evidence concerning the detrimental effect of secrecy, anonymity and deception in donor insemination, this paper argues that these practices are not only psychologically and socially harmful but also ethically unacceptable.