BIRTH certificates could be secretly tagged with the identity of sperm or egg donors under a controversial New South Wales Government proposal to help children track down their biological parents later in life.
Notes or "hidden" addendums would be linked to the certificates, telling the child that more information relating to their donor was available when they turned 18.
The move would mean all donor details could be recorded on the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages for the first time.
The current Assisted Reproductive Technology Register, overseen by NSW Health since its introduction in 2010, covers commercial conceptions but excludes non-medical donations or private arrangements.
In a submission to a parliamentary inquiry, Department of Premier and Cabinet deputy director-general Vicki D'Adam suggested that the option of a hidden record would still allow the child to use the birth certificate for public identification purposes without possible embarrassment.
"Options for including donor information on the birth certificate would need to take into account issues of privacy to ensure that donor-conceived children are not stigmatised by being treated differently to other children," she said.
The inquiry was launched last year after the NSW District Court ordered that a NSW sperm donor be removed from his daughter's BDM register. It ruled that the birth mother's former partner had the right to be named on the register, despite the donor maintaining a close relationship and financial support for the child since birth.
The law says only two parent names can be on the BDM register.
Article: 17th February 2012 www.heraldsun.com.au
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