State secrets: access to information under the Human Reproductive Technology Act 1991 (WA).
Many Australian children have a biological father who gave his sperm so that the child's mother could conceive and raise them. Many of these children, and their parent(s), do not know who that biological father is. However, some want to know. The article examines the Western Australian law on access to information about the identity of parties in these arrangements. It is argued that there is an implied right to access identifying information where all parties consent to the exchange of information; that this right has been ignored in official and medical practice and opportunities for good record-keeping missed; and that the current law allows a parent to give consent to the exchange of identifying information on behalf of their child at any time after the child is conceived.
Law School, University of Western Australia. starrant@law.uwa.edu.au
Stella
S
Tarrant
D022126:Access to Information / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D002648:Child; D002651:Child Advocacy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003219:Confidentiality; D005220:Fathers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007317:Insemination, Artificial, Homologous; D008297:Male; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D014904:Western Australia