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Born Identity: Elizabeth Marquardt on Anonymous Sperm Donation in the United States

Kara Rogers, Encyclopaedia Britannica Blog, 7/1/2010

And according to a recent report titled "My Daddy's Name is Donor," released by the Commission on Parenthood's Future, the social and medical ramifications of anonymous sperm donation in the United States may be far more significant for donor-conceived individuals than is widely believed. "The need to know your father, and the grief [felt] when one's father is not in one's life, is not a recent social construction," explained Elizabeth Marquardt, vice president for family studies at the Institute for American Values and lead author on the report. "Our civilization's great cultural stories, from ancient Mesopotamia through to the Bible and Shakespeare and to the present era, such as the Star Wars films (Darth Vader: 'Luke, I am your father'), affirm the great importance to the human child of knowing and being known by his or her own father."

Family, Donor conception,

More by: Elizabeth Marquardt