Determining Legal Parentage and Nationality of a Child Born Through Assisted Reproductive Technology: A Comparative Perspective

Abstract

While procreation through copulation has remained the conventional means for pregnancy and beginning the human family, advances in medical technology has now demonstrated that coitus is no more the absolute process for childbearing. Individuals like infertile couples, single persons, lesbians and gay partners have now resorted to assisted reproductive technology (ART) and surrogacy arrangements in order to start a family. Transcending the hope and joy it offers to these groups of individuals who may have been incapable of having children of their own, this new procreative technology has stirred up a number of ethical and legal questions. The focal aim of the article was to investigate the state of the law for ascertaining the legal parentage and nationality of a child born through ART. Determination of these sensitive issues is vital because of the possibility of a child conceived through ART having more than two parents, especially where surrogacy, donor sperm and donor eggs are involved. The article adopted desk-based and comparative research methods by relying on both primary and secondary sources of information. The various sources of information were appraised and deductions derived from them were presented descriptively. The article revealed inter alia, that in some of the countries examined, ART practice is regulated and the courts, in a number of instances, have been engaged to resolve controversies pertaining to the legal parentage and nationality of children born through ART procedure. But in Nigeria, the practice is unregulated by law and there is dearth of decided cases on the subject. The authors therefore, recommended that in view of the increasing number of individuals turning to ART in Nigeria, including cross-border surrogacy, to build families, there is need for definite ART legislation in Nigeria so as to assist in resolving these problems and other related ones. Nigerian lawmakers could examine similar laws from other foreign jurisdictions and use them as potential guide to fashion out a domestic legislation in Nigeria. The Nigerian courts could also learn from decisions from other jurisdictions so as to know how to determine related cases as they occur in Nigeria.