Respect donor conceived persons' well-being, keep the requirement of a genetic connection to at least one parent!

Respect donor conceived persons' well-being, keep the requirement of a genetic connection to at least one parent!

The Swedish government has just presented law suggestions that, according to them, are "more up-to-date rules on assisted conception". One of these suggestions are to abolish the requirement on a genetic connection between the child and at least one parent. By that, one will be able to cast aside a child's full biological identity to become a parent, something that solely benefits the intended parents. 

In Sweden there is a generally large desire to be a parent, as if it would be a right and something obvious. We have to start looking after the childrens' rights and their well-being, we have to start thinking about any potential consequences from these kind of actions. 

Amongst these law suggestions one says that childrens' right to their genetic origins will be strengthened, which is great. However it is not by any means a compensation for abolishing the requirement of a genetic connection to at least one parent. 

To many donor conceived people these "up-to-date rules" are "out-of-date rules".

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Some of the potential consequences for donor conceived people:

- Donor conceived people has shown a larger risk of developing eg. mental health issues according to some studies made. Questions about identity are common and it is also not unusual for them to feel loneliness - even if one of their parents is the biological one. For many (not all) donor conceived people, the situation is a burden. 

- There is a risk to unknowingly begin a romantic relationship with a half-sibling (sharing a donor). By abolishing the requirement mentioned above, the risk increases and there is also a risk to unknowingly begin a romantic relationship with a full sibling (sharing both donors). 

- Many parents unfortunately avoid telling their children the truth. Therefore, many donor conceived people find out the truth late in life, which is a shock for most of them and they might feel lied to, disappointed and that their identity was stolen. There may be larger or worse effects on those who find out that they do not biologically belong to neither of their parents.