Description
Over the past two decades an increasing number of countries is banning anonymous gamete donation. The ban is based on the child’s assumed right to know its (genetic) origins, which is considered to be such a vital part of the child’s identity that is follows from the general personality right. Yet in the context of mitochondrial donation or MRT, countries adopt different approaches with regard to the question as to whether mitochondrial donation should be anonymous, or whether the resulting child has a right to know the mitochondrial donor.For this contribution, I aim to address this question from the perspective of narrative identity. Narrative identity is an interpretation of identity that underlies the right to know in the regulation of donor conception. From the perspective of narrative identity, genetic relations are not only important for the child’s identity because of resemblance, but also because of the existential bonds between the child and its progenitors. In particular in an age when as a result of reproductive technologies a growing number of parties is involved in the conception and existence of a child and the child’s origin story becomes more complex, the information on those who supply the nuclear DNA does not tell the whole story. I argue - in line with the influential report of the Dutch State Committee Reassessment Parenthood - that the ‘right to know’ should nowadays be interpreted more broadly as a right to know one’s origin story (recht op ontstaansgeschiedenis).
| Period | 15 Apr 2025 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) Annual Conference 2025 |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Liverpool, United KingdomShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |
Keywords
- MRT
- Mitochondrial donation
- narrative identity
- right to know